WINTER HAVEN — A Polk City man who was shot in a Jan. 3 robbery in which his housemate was killed lost his battle for life Friday.
Kenneth Maier, 57, died about 1 p.m. at Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, where he had been under care since the shooting, according to a statement from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
"We are heartbroken to hear that Kenneth passed away today," Sheriff Grady Judd said in the statement. "We are sending our thoughts and prayers to Kenneth's family and friends. This act of vicious murder should have never happened."
Maier's housemate, William Reiss, 68, was killed in the robbery from four gun shots to his head and one to his hand at 7462 Berkley Road.
When Maier heard the shots, he rushed into the living room and also was shot four times in the head and in his shoulder. He later made it to the roadside, where three drivers passing by found him and called for help.
Maier’s death means felony charges of attempted first-degree murder against three Mobile, Ala., men — Gerjuan Demarcus Jackson, 18, and Kenley Campbell and Darril Lamar Rankin Jr., both 22 – will likely be upgraded to first-degree murder, said Michele Cash, a Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.
That decision and whether to bring other charges will be made when investigators meet with the State Attorney’s Office in Bartow next week.
Earlier, all three were arrested in Mobile on single counts of first-degree murder for Reiss’s death, armed burglary with assault and battery, robbery with a firearm or deadly weapon, burglary of a conveyance and grand theft of a motor vehicle plus 13 counts of grand theft of a firearm.
On Thursday, Mobile TV station WKRG reported that Campbell and Rankin refused to sign voluntary extradition papers at a hearing in a county court, which will means Polk authorities will have to pursue a governor's warrant to make them go against their will.
Jackson also appeared at the hearing on other charges, the station reported. A procedural delay pushed back a hearing on the Polk charges until Tuesday.
Judd said nobody has successfully fought an interstate extradition request on a major crime during his 45 years at the Sheriff's Office.
It means the local court will have to hold a hearing to review the evidence on whether it justifies extradition, he said.
"It's more of a formality," Judd said. "We've extradited people from as far away as Australia. Alabama is not a heavy lift."
Sheriff’s Office reports said Reiss had met Jackson shortly after Hurricane Irma in September, when Jackson was working for a Federal Emergency Management Agency contractor, Vanguard Emergency Management, to assess storm damage claims.
During that first encounter, Jackson discovered Reiss was a private gun dealer with a couple dozen firearms in the home. Two weeks later, Jackson returned and purchased two .45-caliber handguns for $800.
Sheriff's reports said that when Jackson returned to Mobile, he told his friends, Campbell and Rankin, about Reiss and his gun collection, and they set out on Jan. 3 to steal the firearms.
Along the way, Jackson told his friends he intended to kill Reiss, Judd said.
The men arrived at the Polk City residence around 1:30 p.m., and Jackson went to the door while the other two men waited in the car, according to the Sheriff's Office. Investigators say they think Reiss let Jackson in because he trusted him from his previous association as a FEMA contractor and from the earlier gun sale.
Jackson shot Reiss and Maier with a .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun, Judd said.
He said the three suspects took 20 to 25 firearms and a flat screen TV from the residence. Because all the stolen goods would not fit into the trunk of their car, a Chevrolet Sonic, Judd said the men put some of the items into Reiss’s pickup truck and drove back to Mobile.
Investigators were able to track the movement of the vehicles through surveillance videos from local homes and residences.
They identified Campbell through the Sonic, which was registered to him, and linked Jackson and Rankin to the incident with the help of the Mobile Police Department.
Campbell and Rankin were arrested Jan. 6 and subsequently confessed to their involvement in the incident, identifying Jackson as the trigger man, Judd said. U.S. Marshals arrested Jackson three days later, and Judd said he also confessed, even admitting to shooting Reiss and Maier.
Investigators recovered three firearms that were definitively linked to Reiss along with blood-stained clothing apparently worn by the men during the incident and traces of blood in the Sonic, Judd said.
Also on Friday, Vanguard responded to phone messages and an email from The Ledger regarding Jackson.
"We are saddened to learn of this tragic incident," spokeswoman Alexandra Cauberghs said in an email to The Ledger. "All independent contractors must complete a FEMA background check. Mr. Jackson was an independent contractor between Sept. 14 and Nov. 13, 2017, when his assignment ended. The company is cooperating with the Polk County Sheriff’s Department on its investigation."
FEMA had issued a statement earlier.
"Our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims," spokeswoman Jenny Burke said in an agency statement.
"FEMA’s Inspection Services are handled by contracted firms, and not FEMA employees. FEMA works closely with law enforcement on a regular basis, and will provide appropriate coordination with law enforcement on this incident."
All three men were being held in the Mobile County Metro Jail pending extradition to Polk.
Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-401-6980.