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Police shooting suspect has criminal history in Florida
New details have emerged into an investigation into the death of a St. Louis police officer. The suspected killer has ties to Brevard County.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - The man suspected of killing a police officer in St. Louis has a long criminal history in Central Florida.
Earlier this year, Thomas Kinworthy Jr. was charged with several felonies like sexual battery and kidnapping. Despite the serious charges, he was not being held in jail.
Investigators say Kinworthy barricaded himself in a home and opened fire on officers Saturday as they responded to a shooting call.
St. Louis police officer Tamarris Bohannon, 29, was killed. Another officer was injured.
“For us, it hits double hard when it’s one of our own. In this case, a police officer lost his life,” said Brevard County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Tod Goodyear.
The sheriff’s office is very familiar with the suspected killer.
“In January of 2020, an arrest warrant was issued for him,” Goodyear said.
The charges included sexual battery, kidnapping, and aggravated assault with a firearm.
Court records show he was initially held on no bond. But in March, the convicted felon was released on his own recognizance for all of the charges.
“We don’t have any input into what the bonding system is or what release is. That’s a court process, a state attorney process,” Goodyear said.
FOX 35 has been digging to find out why Kinworthy was let out.
The state attorney’s office says by law, prosecutors had 33 days to file formal charges against him and they didn’t have enough evidence to do so at the time, so he was let go.
Then in August, Kinworthy was arrested again.
“During the investigation, there was also a search warrant completed on a vehicle of his. It was found to contain multiple firearms, handguns, rifles, [a] tactical vest, black mask, and that’s spun off into a separate case,” Goodyear said.
Just a few days after he was booked, Kinworthy posted a $15,000 bond.
“In talking to the agent that worked this case, she felt he was violent based on his history and the case that she worked that he was a dangerous person. I would think that would play heavily into him being kept in jail. But once again, I don’t know what factors they used as far as allowing him to be released,” Good year said.
Kinworthy missed a court hearing in late August and that’s when a bench warrant was issued for him.
He’s now charged with first-degree murder in St. Louis.