Palmetto men face federal charges in double murder

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - Two Palmetto men were indicted last month connection with two 2020 murders in Hillsborough County.

The Department of Justice unsealed the federal indictment Tuesday charging Jy’Quale Samari Grable, 20, and Aquavious Smith, 19, with conspiracy and interference with commerce by robbery.

Grable was also charged with using a firearm in relation to a crime of violence causing the death of two victims.

The pair was arrested last month and both are in custody in the Pinellas County Jail.

On Dec. 22, 2020, a resident of the Valrico Station Apartments called 911 after hearing gunshots. Hillsborough County Deputies were dispatched to the 200 block of Switchback Loop, where they discovered the bodies of two men inside one of the units.

Prosecutors and the Drug Enforcement Administration say Grable and Smith committed an armed robbery. During the robbery, Grable shot and killed two men on the back patio of the apartment.

If convicted on all counts, Grable faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, and Smith faces a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment.