John Jefferson
Left: Kendrick Anderson (Orange County Jail). Right: Gregory Reed (Zanders Funeral Home).
Cops in Florida have arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly shooting a U.S. Army veteran to death after a dispute at a gas station last year.
Kendrick Jerrod Anderson is facing a second-degree murder charge for the November 2023 slaying of 60-year-old Gregory C. Reed in Ocoee, a suburb of Orlando. Ocoee police announced Friday in a press release that detectives arrested Anderson after a year-long investigation.
According to a probable cause arrest affidavit, a Publix grocery store employee called 911 around 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, 2023, to report an accident involving a Ford SUV where someone died. Officers and paramedics responded to the scene and found that the driver, later identified as Reed, had been shot several times. First responders rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Publix surveillance video showed the SUV coming from the adjoining BP/Circle K gas station before making an abrupt right turn and crashing into a parked vehicle. A witness at the gas station said he and his girlfriend were sitting in front of the gas station when he saw the SUV and a Mercedes enter the parking lot about the same time. The driver of the Mercedes was trying to pull into a pump, but nearly collided with Reed’s SUV. In response, Reed honked his horn, the witness reportedly told cops. According to the witness, Reed and the two people in the Mercedes were shouting “what, what” back and forth, allegedly sizing each other up.
After the Mercedes parked at the pump, Reed went to the exit to leave the gas station. That’s when the passenger of the Mercedes got out of the car, walked up to Reed’s SUV and allegedly fired five shots, striking Reed multiple times. The Mercedes then drove away.
Reed was wearing a Domino’s Pizza T-shirt at the time of his death and his boss told detectives he had just gotten off his shift as a delivery driver prior to the murder.
In the days following the shooting, Ocoee police released surveillance photos of the Mercedes in question to the public. The vehicle’s owners saw news coverage and contacted police. They said they rented the car to Anderson on Oct. 27 for a two-week period. Anderson’s friends told detectives he would commonly let his buddy drive the vehicle while he was in the passenger seats. Street cameras confirmed this, according to police.
Detectives also obtained a search warrant for Anderson’s phone, which allegedly placed him in the area at the time of the murder. A further search of his phone showed he took a picture of a TV station’s live coverage from the murder scene and sent several text messages asking for “prayers” after Reed’s family met with the media to plead for information in the shooting, per police.
Cops arrested Anderson on Nov. 4, 2023, and took him to the Orange County Jail. However, because prosecutors did not move forward with an order for pretrial detention, a judge gave him a $50,000 bond, which he has since posted.
According to Reed’s obituary, he served in the U.S. Army from 1981 to 1984 following his graduation from high school. He worked in the food industry and at one point opened his own restaurant.
“Greg was truly a beautiful soul. He was very caring and committed father, son, brother, uncle, and cousin. He always made time for his children and family and never missed an opportunity to spend quality time,” the obituary said.
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