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The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) confirmed Tommie Battie IV, a standout high school football player, was killed in a shooting Saturday morning. He was 24 years old.
Sources tell CBS Sports Battie's brother Brian, a running back for the Auburn Tigers and previously the South Florida Bulls, was injured in the shooting.
t happened at 3:30 a.m. in the 3400 block of 17th Street, near North Beneva Road.
Deputies confirmed four people were injured and are being treated at local hospitals, but did not released their identities.
Tommie Battie played multiple positions for Braden River High School's varsity football team. He graduated in 2018.
The brothers are Sarasota natives.
SCSO said this appears to be an isolated incident. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Criminal Investigations Section at 941-861-4900 or Sarasota Crimestoppers at 941-366-8477.
Of course this is terrible and no innocent person derserves to be shot. However IMO if you want to lessen the chances of something bad happening don't be hanging around with groups of people at 3:30 AM.
For more details:
Sarasota football star Brian Battie injured, brother killed in shooting
The brothers were shot at Tallywood Centre Plaza in the early hours of May 18. Their connections to the Sarasota community run deep.
In 2017, Tommie Battie IV and Brian Battie were starters on the Sarasota High football team.
The team went 5-5 that season, but the brothers were bright spots. Tommie Battie, a senior, played defensive back and took occasional snaps at quarterback. When he did, Brian Battie would be next to him. A sophomore at the time, Brian Battie would soon turn into the best running back in the Sarasota area. His ascent began that season.
The 2017 season was the only one the brothers played together, but they both played the game with enthusiasm, which earned them the respect of their teammates. In a 34-14 win over Booker High that year, the brothers combined for 285 yards.
The happy memories only make what happened May 18 more of a tragedy.
Brian Battie and Tommie Battie IV played football together for Sarasota High in 2017. The brothers were shot in Sarasota on May 18. Tommie Battie IV was pronounced dead at the scene, while Brian Battie was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
The Battie brothers were among a group of people shot around 3:30 a.m. May 18 at Tallywood Centre Plaza, in the 3400 block of 17th Street in Sarasota, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office. Tommie Battie IV, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene. Brian Battie, 22, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. Four other victims were taken to local hospitals.
As of May 19, the SCSO had not released the name of the shooter nor a motive, but said it appeared to be an isolated incident. The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information related to this shooting is encouraged to contact the SCSO Criminal Investigations Section at 861-4900 or Sarasota Crimestoppers at 366-8477.
While Tommie Battie IV did not continue his football career past his senior season in 2017, Brian Battie did.
An electric running back and kick/punt returner, Brian Battie was a threat to score every time he touched the ball. He had options of where he could play at the NCAA Division I level. He elected to join the University of South Florida, where he spent three seasons and accumulated 1,842 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns, plus 1,427 kick return yards and three touchdowns. He was named an NCAA Consensus All-American for his 2021 performance on special teams. Battie transferred to Auburn University prior to the 2023 season and had 227 rushing yards and a touchdown, plus 645 kick return yards, with the Tigers.
Village residents can expect a smoother ride in some areas by the end of June.
Starting on June 10, the town will begin a repaving project for areas of the Village. The project is contracted through Gator Grading and Paving and is expected to take about a week, weather permitting.
The total project cost is about $246,000, which comes from the town budget. Mopps said the town has been incrementally improving the condition of roads through the repaving and resurfacing program.
This project in the Village addresses some critical areas that need to be resurfaced, but will not repave the entire Village.
“That way, we can buy some time before we move onto road elevation projects,” Assistant Director of Public Works Charlie Mopps said.
The town is in the process of securing grants for various resilience projects related to flooding in the Village, Buttonwood and Sleepy Lagoon.
Across all three project areas, the flooding resiliency projects include changes in road elevation and additional drainage structures.
A former Venice High School coach who was arrested for sexual assault of a student-athlete was re-sentenced in December to almost six years in prison followed by five years of probation after he violated a Sarasota judge's previous orders.
The Venice Police Department arrested Edward Delehanty in May 2022 on a charge of sexual battery by a custodian on a victim under 18 years old, according to previous Herald-Tribune reporting. While coach of the junior varsity soccer team during the winter 2021 season, he began a sexual relationship with a member of the team, VPD officials alleged in a Facebook post.
Delehanty would pick up the student from home for "one-on-one personal coaching," when he would instead engage in sexual intercourse with the victim in his truck and at home, according to previous reporting.
The following real estate transactions of more than $1 million were filed in Charlotte, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties. The information, if available, lists the seller; buyer; address; amount of sale; previous price; and type of property. These were for transactions filed the week of March 17, 2024, except for Polk, which includes transactions filed the week of Feb. 9, 2024.
Manatee
Buyer: West Shore Cirrus LLC, Lewis Cirrus LLC, Enterprises Cirrus LLC, and M&T Cirrus LLC
Seller: Aqua Apartments LLC
Address: 6815 Foxtail Palm Way, Bradenton
Property Type: Apartment units
Price: $93,500,000
Buyer: MHC 264 (Bradenton FL) LLC
Seller: Dahn America360 Storage DST
Address: 5717 14th St. W., Bradenton
Property Type: Warehouse
Price: $4,550,000
Previous Price: $2,475,000, August 2014
Sarasota
Buyer: Sarasota County
Seller: Can Community Health Inc.
Address: 4466 Fruitville Road, Sarasota and 4440 Fruitville Road, Sarasota
Property Type: School, office building, and residential land
Price: $11,955,200
Previous Price: $1,690,000, March 2020
Buyer: DHIR - Southwest Florida I LLC
Seller: PPG Hidden Palms LLC
Address: Alligator Place, Venice
Property Type: Residential land
Price: $8,210,200
Previous Price: $1,521,000, December 2021
Buyer: 4623 Soto LLC
Seller: FL Fruitville LLC
Address: 4623 N. Washington Blvd., Sarasota
Property Type: Multifamily units
Price: $6,925,000
Previous Price: $5,225,000, April 2022
The first is an 8,496-square-foot retail shopping center at 7782 North Tamiami Trail. The property sits on about half an acre and is made up of two buildings.
According to one of the listing agents, Ben Chambers of the SVN Commercial Advisory Group, the first building is 6,096 square feet and at the corner of Tamiami Trail and Scott Avenue. Pamaro Shop Furniture currently occupies the downstairs and will close after the sale. And there is a vacant apartment upstairs. The second building is 2,400 square feet and connected by a west lot being used as a secondary showroom. The asking price: $2.69 million. Manatee County property records show it has been owned by a single individual since 1976.
The second property is right next door at 7778 Westmoreland Drive. The two-story building is occupied by Manatee County’s health department on the first floor and a renter in a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment on the second. The property, scheduled to be officially listed May 22, is being marketed as an investment property, says Chambers.
Manatee is amid a five-year lease with a five-year option the county is expected to exercise. As for the apartment, the rent for the one-year leases is backed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “Basically, both are government subsidized tenants,” says Chambers. “Which is great for any sort of investor to come in, because it's guaranteed mailbox money.” The asking price will be $1.1 million. According to county records, it owned by Rent to Own of Sarasota Inc.
A crash on southbound Interstate 75 is causing massive delays for Manatee County drivers after a car crashed into Denny's sign in the middle of the road.
Off to the races! Sarasota County’s annual Kids’ Summer Beach Runs are returning in June and July. Kids and their families can participate in free one-mile fun runs at Siesta and North Brohard beaches; registration begins at 5:30 p.m. near the playground at Siesta Beach and the Venice Fishing Pier at North Brohard Beach. Runs start at 6:30 p.m. in both locations.
Participants will receive a finisher ribbon and kids who complete four runs receive a free T-shirt, a free kid’s meal coupon for Gecko’s Grill & Pub and a coupon for kid’s New Balance shoes. The runs can be completed at either location.
The Kids’ Summer Beach Runs are scheduled as follows:
- Tuesdays, June 4 through July 30, at Siesta Beach, 948 Beach Road, Sarasota.
- Wednesdays, June 5 through July 31, at North Brohard Beach, 1400 S. Harbor Drive, Venice.
- No runs are scheduled for Tuesday, July 2, at Siesta Beach or Wednesday, July 3, at North Brohard Beach.
Manatee County’s beloved G.T. Bray Park is in the middle of a $15 million makeover.
Big changes are coming to West Bradenton park, including new equipment, new recreation areas and quality-of-life improvements for residents and visitors. When the county built its first large-scale park at 5502 33rd Ave. Dr. W., Bradenton, it marked the start of its Parks and Recreation Department.
“It was top of the line at that time, but it’s been 40 years and parks do age,” Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge said in an interview with the Bradenton Herald. “It’s time for a makeover of the park.”
The county renovated the baseball field, replaced the baseball and softball backstops and installed football uprights. County officials also approved new playgrounds, bought gym equipment and added LED lighting and fencing throughout the park.
There are plans to expand the fitness center, build a programming pool, refurbish the pool deck and build an overflow parking lot. Plus, county officials said basketball courts, a batting cage, sand volleyball courts and an outdoor fitness rig are in the works.
In 2022, Manatee County Government renovated the C.V. Walton Racquet Center , which features 20 pickleball courts and eight clay tennis courts. The park also frequently hosts events, such as the county’s spring music series and an annual Halloween celebration .
Van Ostenbridge, who grew up in West Bradenton and played little league baseball and Pop Warner football at the park, said it was a passion project for him.
With “official” hurricane season less than two weeks away, thousands of Southwest Florida residents attended educational expos showcasing how to prepare for severe storms.
Sun News Media and APG Florida hosted expos in Venice and Punta Gorda on Friday and Saturday, introducing people to for-profits, nonprofits and weather prophets discussing the past, present and near-future.
Host: The biggest commercial developer in the region is proposing to turn one of the biggest mall properties in Sarasota into a complex that mixes retail and housing. That should be low-hanging, juicy fruit to build affordable apartments. But apparently neither the developer not the city planning board is eager to pick it. Ramon Lopez has the details.
Ramon Lopez: There’s agreement on the need for more affordable and attainable housing in Sarasota. But how to best get there is subject to much debate. Case in point: Redevelopment of the Southgate Mall, to includeresidential housing.
Southgate Mall location
A heated argument broke out at the Sarasota Planning Board meeting on Monday, May 6. If you don’t already know, the Sarasota Planning Board guides future real estate development within the City of Sarasota. The board makes recommendations to the city commission with respect to adoption of proposed amendments to the city’s comprehensive plan.
It also prepares and recommend ordinances, regulations and other proposals, which promote controlled development of land within the city. And it determines whether proposed development projects conform to the principles and requirements of the comp plan. The planning board has six members, all with real estate savvy.
Before the Planning Board members were requests from Benderson Development, the owner of Crossings at Siesta Key Mall, commonly known as Southgate Mall, located on South Tamiami Trail south of downtown Sarasota. Benderson is taking an initial procedural step towards transforming the current shopping mall, which has fallen on hard times.
Today, the half-empty shopping center’s list of tenants only includes a Macy’s, Chico’s, CMX Cinebistro, Connors Steak and Seafood, and a small Aldi’s grocery store. Benderson plans to rebuild the long-suffering shopping center into a “New Urbanism” community. The property’s current zoning designation is “Commercial Shopping Center.”
Project officials say they plan to address the former Southgate development in pieces, due to some long-term leases at the property, and they say the redevelopment may take two decades to complete.
Benderson needs a new “urban mixed-use” classification to construct retail, office and residential units on the site, including “attainable” or “workforce” housing. But Benderson remains vague about its overall building plan.
The company seeks to develop up to 848 dwelling units on the nearly 34-acre site, with 10% designated “attainable housing”, according to documents filed with the planning board. This provision is meant to address concern the real estate developer won’t construct attainable housing on the site.
The current proposal is to allow for residential development up to a maximum density of 25 dwelling units per acre. The applicant originally proposed to include a bonus density, providing an additional 10 dwelling units per acre, up to 35 units per acre.
City Planning staff signed off on all of Benderson’s requests. But Sarasota Planning Board Member Terrell Salem, a local house builder who lives in Newtown, pushed back on the zoning request. He said the project should have much more attainable housing. Salem said the recently-enacted Live Local Act provides historic investment in affordable housing, and incentives for developers to construct workforce housing — and that should be applied here.
The biggest commercial developer in the region is proposing to turn one of the biggest mall properties in Sarasota into a complex that mixes retail and housing. That should be low-hanging, juicy fruit to build affordable apartments. But apparently neither the developer nor the city planning board is eager to pick it. Ramon Lopez has the details.
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