SARASOTA, Fla. – A Miami man is facing charges in Sarasota County after authorities said he went there to steal catalytic converters and ended up killing a motorcyclist in a hit-and-run crash.
Edwin J. Norris, 30, who lives in the Buena Vista neighborhood, is facing charges in connection with the 2023 death of the 21-year-old victim and the theft of $94,000 worth of catalytic converters from two Sarasota County businesses. Authorities said four other suspects were involved in the burglaries.
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According to court documents, on April 4, after stealing from the second business, after seeing deputies arrive at the scene, Norris, driving a rented Audi SUV, sped off.
About a minute after leaving the business, going 61 mph in a 35 mph zone, through a red light in front of Leonardo Adams, of Orlando, who struck the side of the SUV and was thrown into the roadway, authorities said. Norris is accused of leaving Adams for dead.
Court documents state Norris then drove to Interstate 75, abandoned the SUV on the shoulder and then got into a silver minivan along with the other suspects. The vehicles had been seen on surveillance video at a nearby restaurant before the burglaries; the suspects all went out to eat.
Investigators found Norris’ fingerprints on the Audi’s dashboard, court documents show.
A little less than 40 minutes after the crash, authorities said Norris emailed his ex-girlfriend, “Almost killed someone on a motorcycle jus got in a chase we otw back na tho.”
According to the court documents, Norris would later be arrested in Lee County as part of an unrelated case.
He’s facing a charge of felony murder and a host of burglary and grand theft charges and was arrested by the Sarasota Sheriff’s Office last Wednesday.
He remained in the Sarasota County jail as of Thursday morning.