An 18-year-old
Sanford man is fatally shot while riding his bike early Wednesday, becoming the ninth person killed in a criminal homicide this year in the city of 53,000.
A Sanford man fatally shot while riding his bike early Wednesday was a loving uncle and grandson, his family said. Lester Inman, 18, was going home from a party when he was shot just after midnight at Terry Lane and Scott Drive, said Ronny Neal, Sanford police spokesman. He’s the ninth person killed in a criminal homicide in 2017, a high number for a city with a population of about 53,500.
Inman’s family struggled with the loss Wednesday. Inman, who lived with his grandmother, was the kind of relative who called just to see how someone was doing and randomly visited relatives at their homes, his niece Jade Inman said.
Jade, 14, looked up to Inman, who taught her how to fish and went skateboarding with her. “He loved his family more than anything,” she said.
Neighbors who called 911 said they heard several gunshots in the neighborhood north of Orlando Sanford International Airport, Neal said. He said investigators could be looking for more than one suspect. Anyone with information about Inman’s killing is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477 or Sanford police at 407-688-5070. A $5,000 reward has been offered for information that leads to an arrest.
Homicides are up this year in Sanford from five in 2016. A string of shootings since October spurred Police Chief Cecil Smith to reach out to the public via social media and in a news conference to ease residents’ fears. e previously told the Orlando Sentinel that investigators think most of the shootings are related and are between people who know each other. The department has tapped into its overtime budget to increase patrols, he said.
Part One crimes had been on a steady decline since 2013, when the city reported having 3,854 crimes, until 2016. There was a spike from 3,113 in 2015 to 3,298 in 2016.
The police department campaigned in 2014 and 2015, urging residents to report crime and using social media to take reports. Smith said he thinks more reporting contributed to that increase. Crime fell again this year to 2,656 as of Dec. 3, according to department statistics.