A Florida woman is facing a murder charge after a man she lured into a robbery attempt on a dating app shot and killed her brother in self-defense, according to a report.
The 23-year-old woman, Tat’yana Mekeva Gatson, of Tampa Bay, presented herself on the BLK dating app as a 22-year-old woman named “Jada” and connected with an unidentified male on May 31, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
According to investigators, Gatson invited the man to meet her at the Kains Palms Apartments where her brother was lying in wait to rob him.
Upon the man’s arrival, Gatson’s masked brother, Jermon Kennard, 18, threatened him with a knife and demanded money.
The would-be victim then pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot Kennard in the head and chest, the outlet said. Kennard was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Gatson told responding officers that she thought her brother was going to sell an iPhone to the man and that it was not a planned robbery, according to the Hillsborough County sheriff. She said she went out to check on him and heard five gunshots.
However, investigators found that Gatson had texted her brother to come outside before the man arrived.
While Gatson did not killed her brother, a Florida law holds that when a person is killed during the commission of an attempted felony, murder raps can be filed against anyone involved in the crime.
Gatson was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and was released on a $15,000 bond pending her next court appearance.
According to an obituary, Kennard was completing his senior year at Carver Exceptional Center in Tampa.
“He will be missed dearly by all who knew him,” the obituary stated.
