Triple-slaying suspect surrenders after standoff; child safe

Posted at 6:45 AM, April 3, 2020 and last updated 6:49 PM, June 15, 2023

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — After a prolonged standoff, Florida state troopers arrested a Georgia man accused of fatally shooting three people in his child’s mother’s family and kidnapping his child, authorities said Wednesday.

Caesar Zamien Lamar Crockett Jr. safely handed his 2-year-old son over to authorities after a crash near Tampa. He then stayed in his vehicle for several hours in a standoff with law enforcement before he eventually surrendered without incident, officials said.

Crockett, 29, was wanted on three counts of murder and one count of kidnapping, according to a statement from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office. His vehicle was spotted on Interstate 75 near Tampa, which led to a police chase onto Interstate 4, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

Crockett eventually crashed near the interchange between the two highways, FHP said.

Crockett left with his son, King Cane Crockett, 2, after getting into a fight with the child’s mother Tuesday night in Macon, Georgia. During the fight, authorities said Caesar Crockett pulled out a gun and fatally shot the woman’s mother, stepfather and sister.