Bradenton Man Convicted of Attempted Murder and Kidnapping After Workplace Shooting
A Manatee County jury has found a Bradenton man guilty of attempted murder and three other felonies following a violent workplace incident at the Tropicana plant. The conviction comes nearly a year after the attack, which left one coworker seriously injured and another abducted at gunpoint.
The jury convicted Demetrius Tyrone Bell, 51, of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, armed kidnapping, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon following a two-day trial at the Manatee County Judicial Center.
The charges stem from an incident on June 5, 2023, when Bell argued with a 39-year-old coworker after his shift at the Tropicana Bradenton plant. Authorities say Bell left the scene but later returned armed, shooting the coworker in the torso before forcing a female coworker to leave with him at gunpoint. The victim suffered serious injuries, while the kidnapped woman was later released unharmed in Tampa after a two-day search.
Bell evaded law enforcement for nearly a year before authorities received a tip in April 2024 that he had returned to Bradenton. When police attempted to arrest him, he fled, leading to a pursuit that ended when the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Aviation Unit spotted him hanging from the roof of a storage facility near Braden River. Bell was taken into custody with a firearm in his possession, which investigators later linked to a shell casing from the shooting scene.
Bell now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years for attempted first-degree murder and 10 years for armed kidnapping. Prosecutors are pursuing an enhanced sentence under Florida’s three-time violent felony offender law, which could result in a mandatory life sentence.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.