Tampa man gets life for murders during pot robbery

TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) - A Tampa man has been sentenced to life in prison for two grisly murders in Hillsborough County in 2020, in a case that also sent a Palmetto man to prison.

Jy’Quale Samari Grable, 21, was found guilty in U.S. District Court in November of conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, and first-degree premeditated murder.

A co-defendant, Aquavious Smith, 19, of Palmetto, was sentenced in November to nearly four years in prison for conspiracy and interference with commerce by robbery.

Grable orchestrated a plan in which he, Smith and a third person drove to the Valrico Station Apartments in Brandon to conduct a robbery of marijuana. Grable went to the victims’ third-floor apartment.

On the back patio, Grable shot one victim in the neck and another through the heart. Neighbors heard the gunshots and observed blood dripping from the balcony and called police.

According to evidence presented in court, Grable deleted messages and phone calls from his phone, had family members dispose of the murder weapon, and burned his bloody clothing.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s Office, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, and Florida Department of Law Enforcement.