BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office has planned to begin the trial of man accused of killing another man at a bar in May 2011. The trial of Jimmy Cruz is set to begin on April 15th.
On May 18, 2011, Walter J. J. Revear (pictured), was in the parking lot o the Interstate Lounge, 9301 N. Nebraska Avenue, when a fight started. Revear, 28, was not involved in the fight, but was attempting to stop it, when another patron began shooting.
According to police, officers received a 9-1-1 call pertaining to a shooting shortly after 1 a.m., Tuesday. Upon arrival, they discovered Revear lying in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his upper body. Fire Rescue pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police said an argument took place at the bar after someone threw a drink on another patron. The individuals continued the fight in the parking lot.
Witnesses told police that Jimmy Lee Cruz, 33, who was involved in the altercation, allegedly went to his vehicle, took out a gun, and allegedly shot Revear. He then fled the scene in a newer model red Dodge Charger.
Cruz surrendered to police through his attorney and was charged with 2nd degree murder. He is being held without bond.
A Troubled Life
Known as “J. J.,” Revear was last arrested January 6, 2009, but was determined incompetent to stand trial. He was sent to the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, March 1, 2010, after serving 498 days in jail. He was released from the hospital on probation April 22, 2011, records show.
Revear first drew national attention with his arrest on February 15, 1995. He became known as Hillsborough County’s youngest defendant facing adult prison. Then 12-years-old, he was charged with 15 counts of grand theft auto, 4 counts of robbery with a firearm, and one count of escaping from a juvenile facility.
The Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office took the case before a Grand Jury. The jury took 36 minutes to convict Revear. However, the late Hillsborough County Judge Diane Allen refused to send the pre-teenager to adult prison.
Instead, he was ordered to serve probation with numerous stipulations. In 1997, two years later, at age 14, Revear violated his probation and was sentenced to 5 years in prison with credit for time served in the Hillsborough County Jail.
