SANFORD, Fla. – The family of a man who was murdered at a Seminole County apartment complex nearly two years ago hopes telling his story will make a difference.
In November 2022, Phillip McCrimmon Martin was watching over his friend’s apartment near State Road 46 and Upsala Road when he was shot and killed. Deputies say the 33-year-old was gunned down after an ongoing argument with another man who was also staying at the complex.
Deputies with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office believe Kadeem Fisher chased McCrimmon Martin up the stairs while shooting at him. He was found dead in a locked unit.
This month, Fisher was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
“There’s not a day that goes by that, you know, we don’t feel his presence and the sadness of the situation,” said Freda Lorraine McCrimmon Martin, the mother of the victim.
McCrimmon Martin’s family also recently settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners and the former management of the apartment complex for $8.6 million.
“Had they had working gates, had they had security guards, and most importantly had they conducted background checks and understood who exactly was living at their apartment complex this would have never happened,” said Michael Haggard, the family’s attorney.
Haggard is also the secretary of the National Center for Victims of Crime. He spoke out against gun violence at a news conference Monday along with McCrimmon Martin’s mother.
“They had a criminal conviction, which doesn’t happen over 50% of the time in homicides in the state of Florida. They were able to bring a successful civil case to hopefully change this defendant’s behavior, but there is no justice,” said Haggard. “They want one thing to happen: This not to happen to another family. So, that a father, a mother, and a sister don’t lose another innocent life.”
“Your family knows the impact of gun violence intimately. What do you hope people think about before they pick up that weapon or pull the trigger?” asked News 6′s Catherine Silver.
“I would hope that they give it a second thought before they do,” said McCrimmon Martin’s mother.
Over the weekend in Central Florida, a father of three was shot and killed in a driveway at a home in St. Cloud.
Orlando Police also responded to two shootings. Officers say a man was shot in the College Park area during a carjacking. The suspects got the gun from an unlocked car, according to police.
More than 3,000 Floridians died by a firearm injury the same year McCrimmon Martin was killed, according to data tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We’re here today almost 8 years and 2 days from the tragedy at Pulse in Orlando,” said Haggard. “We wear orange today because in 2013 a young girl marched to President Obama’s second inaugural parade and then a week later she was killed on a playground.”
In January 2013, Hadiya Pendelton was shot and killed on a playground in Chicago. After the tragedy, her loved ones chose to honor her life by wearing orange, the color hunters wear in the woods to protect themselves. Ever since June has been a month recognized for gun violence awareness.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: