Law enforcement reacts to violent weekend involving teens in Pinellas County

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It was a violent weekend in Pinellas County involving teens.

St. Petersburg Police arrested 16-year-old Randy Reynolds on Sunday night, and charged him with first degree felony murder and armed robbery with a deadly weapon in 21-year-old Marcus Rivers’ murder on Saturday.

Police also arrested 17-year-old Tyvion Royal and 16-year-old Samarion Douglas, who are facing the same charges. Royal is also charged with delinquent in possession of a firearm.

RELATED: Third teen charged after deadly St. Pete shooting, police say

Police said the teens walked up to Rivers in his car at 80th Avenue Northeast and Riverside Drive and shot him Saturday afternoon. Royal was also shot during the exchange. He’s in the hospital in critical but stable condition. Police said the four knew each other and the incident was drug related.

"At the end of the day, somebody lost their life with that, and they're paying the ultimate price by being arrested for murder and potentially going to have to deal with that litigation," said Assistant Chief Michael Kovacsev of the St. Petersburg Police Department. "It destroys multiple families, not only the victim's family, but the teenagers are going to have to deal with their families as well, trying to put all those pieces back together."

Kovacsev said while detectives are still determining where the gun or guns involved in the homicide came from, the suspects involved weren’t allowed to have them.

"I think that's the key point there, is teenagers getting guns. When you have the opportunity to be able to take one illegally, they're not allowed to own a firearm. Most of the time it's done through vehicle burglaries, or they're able to sometimes find them or purchase them on the street. It becomes a problem because it's an opportunity," Kovacsev said.

Kovacsev said the number of homicides in St. Pete is lower right now than this time last year, and most of the homicides revolve around drugs and domestic situations.

In another case involving teens and guns, Pinellas County deputies are investigating a murder suicide that also happened Saturday. The incident happened in an unincorporated area of St. Pete.

PREVIOUS: 2 teens dead after murder-suicide in St. Petersburg, deputies say

Deputies said four people spent the day at a home where 17-year-old Hector Phieffer was dog-sitting. Deputies said the teens were drinking and using drugs. They found a gun in the home, the Sheriff’s Office said, and started playing with it and taking pictures with it.

Deputies said Phieffer got into an argument with 14-year-old Sayuri Ruiz about a consensual sexual encounter Phieffer had. Deputies said the 17-year-old shot her in the head then turned the gun on himself.

Pasco County Schools’ spokesperson confirmed Ruiz attended Gulf Middle School. He said they had grief counselors at the school on Monday, and said their hearts break for the families involved.

In recent months, law enforcement agencies around the Bay Area have raised concerns over the number of stolen guns in the hands of teenagers. In December, Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri called on the state legislature to increase penalties for teens caught with guns.

"This proliferation of guns on the streets and guns in this area and guns in the hands of these kids, this is the worst I’ve ever seen it," Gualtieri said.

A bill waiting for the governor’s signature would make minors’ first illegal possession of a gun a third degree felony instead of a first degree misdemeanor. It would also lengthen the amount of time they’d spend in jail for the offense.

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