Awaiting Trial for Over Seven Years, Wimauma Murder Suspect Finally Granted Bond

In the Hillsborough County Jail since late 2010, a Wimauma man was finally granted bail last week after a judge opined that the evidence prosecutors have presented against him to this point is too weak to deny it.

Michael Edward Keetley was arrested on December 2, 2010 in connection with a shooting spree a few days prior that left two dead and four others wounded. According to prosecutors, Keetley approached Juan and Sergio Guitron and their four friends as they sat on the porch of a Ruskin home wearing a shirt with the word “sheriff” printed on it and a shotgun.

Per investigators, Keetley asked the men if they knew of an individual who went by the name “Creeper.” They say he then made the six men lie on the ground and proceeded to shoot each of them.

Investigators’ suspicion immediately fell upon Keetley, who had suffered an armed robbery at the hands of someone he came to believe went by the moniker “Creeper.” Several months earlier Keetley was selling ice cream when an armed man robbed him of $12 before wounding and permanently maiming him. Police say evidence at his home suggested that he was searching for an individual called “Creeper” at the time they say he committed the shooting.

Though the case seemed ironclad, Keetley’s attorney noted that the evidence against him is entirely circumstantial. The prosecutor’s best physical evidence consists of shell casings found at the murder scene. Per forensics experts, the gun that fired those rounds was a Glock .45, which is among the collection of firearms Keetley admitted to owning. However, a search of his home turned up no such gun despite finding shell casings also fired from the murder weapon. The problem, points out Keetley’s attorney, is that the rounds found at his home were not fired by a Glock.

Noting these discrepancies, Circuit Judge Samantha Ward set Keetley’s bond at $900,000. If met, Keetley will be under house arrest as he awaits trial for murder. Keetley’s attorney says such an order is long overdue, as he has spent most of his stay in jail in solitary confinement, only allowed out of his cell for one hour each day.

The Law Offices of Bjorn Brunvand have been representing people charged with capital murder, felony drug charges, drunk driving, government fraud, and white-collar crimes for over a quarter century. Contact our office today to discuss your Tampa Bay-area state or federal charges.