An officer involved shooting occurred at approximately 6:22 a.m. on Sunday, November 27, 2022 at 1225 58th Street N in St. Petersburg.
At approximately 3:48 a.m. on November 27, 2022, St. Petersburg Police Officers responded to a report of a hit and run in the area of 13th Avenue North and 50th Street North. According to detectives, the bumper of the suspect’s vehicle was left at the scene, with the vehicles’ license plate still attached.
When officers ran the license plate, the registered address came back to 1225 58th Street North, Apartment 204A.
According to detectives, officers attempted to make contact at the residence multiple times. After several failed attempts, the officers spoke to the vehicle’s registered owner, Mary Spanoudis, who currently resides at a local
nursing home. Detectives say Mary expressed concern about the well-being of her 63-year-old son, Gus Spanoudis.
At approximately 6:10 a.m., officers, with assistance of the St. Petersburg
Fire Department, forced entry into the residence. Upon entry, Spanoudis was
located in the back bedroom.
According to detectives, Spanoudis made suicidal statements and pointed a
firearm at Officer Jace Morrow. Officer Morrow issued several commands to drop
the firearm before firing at Spanoudis.
Spanoudis was taken to a Bayfront Health St. Petersburg where he was pronounced deceased. Next of kin has been notified.
In 2020, the Pinellas County Use of Deadly Force Investigative Taskforce was created to ensure the investigations conducted into law enforcement use of deadly force are thorough, complete, and objective. The purpose of this
taskforce is to make sure that officer-involved shootings in Pinellas County are investigated by an independent agency and not by the agency involved in the use of deadly force.
Per St. Petersburg Police Department’s policy, Officer Morrow will be placed
on no duty status.
The investigation continues.