The humid air of Clearwater, Florida, hung heavy over a Bank of America parking lot on a Tuesday evening that was destined to spiral from a routine business transaction into a scene of chaotic violence. Louise Ornduff and her son, Kalaeb, had arrived at the location under the impression that they were meeting a pair of interested buyers for a Nissan Rogue. In the digital age, such meetups are common, often brokered through social media marketplaces where strangers haggle over prices before meeting in public, well-lit spaces to finalize the deal. Louise had chosen the bank parking lot specifically for its perceived safety, but the two individuals waiting for them had no intention of purchasing a vehicle.
The “buyers” were eighteen-year-old Lasupta Singletary and seventeen-year-old Jernalen Dreshaw Coleman. Despite their youth, both had already established criminal histories that suggested a comfort with transgression. As the Ornduffs arrived and the conversation regarding the Nissan began, the facade of a civil transaction evaporated instantly. In a flash, the two teenagers produced firearms, shifting the dynamic from a negotiation to an armed robbery. They demanded the keys to the vehicle Kalaeb was driving, using the threat of lethal force to cow the mother and son into submission.