Detectives from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Robbery & Homicide Unit continue to investigate a fatal shooting that occurred early Friday morning in Palm Harbor.
On July 18, 2025, at approximately 5:57 a.m., deputies responded to a 911 call reporting a gunshot and a male found lying on the ground outside 3944 Country Place Lane in the Lakeview at Palm Harbor apartment complex. Upon arrival, deputies located 19-year-old Antonio Williams of Clearwater in the parking lot of the complex with a gunshot wound to the neck. Williams was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
According to investigators, Williams had been socializing with friends at an apartment in the complex when an altercation occurred. He exited the apartment through the front door following the dispute. Detectives say 33-year-old Aaron Devon Sawyer, who was also at the apartment, retrieved a firearm from a safe, followed Williams outside, and fired one shot, striking him in the neck.
Sawyer fled the scene before deputies arrived but was later located and taken into custody. He has been charged with First-Degree Murder and booked into the Pinellas County Jail.
The victim’s next of kin has been notified. The investigation remains ongoing.