'Person of interest' appears in court on charges unrelated to St. Pete homicides

New information is beginning to emerge about the investigation into a pair of seemingly-random homicides in St. Pete. On Thursday, the St. Petersburg Police Department revealed authorities had zeroed in on a person of interest in both cases. Officers said the FBI and Tampa Police Department helped take the individual into custody on unrelated charges, but they did not immediately release the person's name. Now, the mother of Corlenzo Williams – one of the two shooting victims – is revealing that detectives confirmed to her that 34-year-old Johnny Carnegie is the person of interest. Carnegie is being held on unrelated charges and appeared in court Friday to face those. Carnegie has not been named a suspect, but a source close to the situation corroborated what family had been told about him being the person of interest. Jail records show he was arrested Wednesday in Hillsborough County, which is consistent with what law enforcement had previously said about the person. This week, St. Pete Police Chief Anthony Holloway asked for the public's help in getting surveillance video into the hands of detectives who are still working to piece together exactly how two men wound up dead just days apart. If you haven't been following the story, it involves the seemingly "unprovoked" shooting deaths of two men who share a last name but are not related and have no known connection. Authorities say 60-year-old Vernon Williams was killed early April 10 on Melrose Avenue S., and 24-year-old Corlenzo Williams died of a gunshot wound just after 1 a.m. April 12 on 17th Avenue South.