A husband and father of two was killed inside his home by three masked men. Robert Berry's wife witnessed the crime, while their children slept in their rooms. The case has since turned cold, but the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has not given up and is urging anyone with information to come forward.
00:05:30 - 00:05:35
“It’s sad that somebody has to die over something as small as drugs.”
A LIFE CUT SHORT.
A FAMILY LEFT GRIEVING.
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“I don’t believe that Mr. Berry was dealing a large amount of narcotics out of his residence, he seemed like a good man, a family man, so I don’t see why someone would feel the need to murder him.”
FORTY-FIVE YEAR OLD ROBERT BERRY WAS HOME WITH HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN WHEN GUNFIRE ERUPTED AND HIS LIFE WAS TAKEN.
WE TAKE A LOOK BACK AT THIS BRUTAL CASE THAT HAS TURNED COLD AS WITNESSES FAIL TO COME FORWARD. DETECTIVES HOPE YOU CAN HELP US SOLVE THIS “UNFINISHED BUSINESS.”
00:01:35 - 00:01:45
“Through the investigation, there’s been some tips that came in but as of this day the case remains unsolved.”
IT’S BEEN NEARLY TWO YEARS SINCE DETECTIVES WITH THE HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE WERE CALLED TO THE EASTERN SIDE OF THE COUNTY TO INVESTIGATE A MURDER THAT HAD TAKEN PLACE AT A HOME ON JOE KING ROAD IN PLANT CITY.
IT’S A RURAL NEIGHBORHOOD, WITH POOR STREET LIGHTING, AND FEW RESIDENTS.
BUT DETECTIVE JOSEPH FLORIO HAS BEEN TRYING TO TURN EVERY STONE IN HOPES OF FINDING A LEAD.
00:02:23 - 00:02:41
“Judging from the area of where this crime occurred, it’s quite isolated at the address of the incident, to me it appears this is not a random act, this is something the victim was targeted.”
JUST AFTER MIDNIGHT ON JULY FIRST 2019… DETECTIVES SAY THREE MASKED MEN STORMED INTO THE GARAGE AND IN A SPAN OF SECONDS SHOT AND KILLED ROBERT BERRY.
HIS WIFE WITNESSED THE HORRIFIC SCENE WHILE HER CHILDREN SLEPT INSIDE.
00:00:57 - 00:01:11
“She had advised that three unknown males entered through the open garage about five minutes prior to the 911 call and began firing at Robert Berry.”
00:01:46 - 00:02:12
Natalia, “what were those three men after?”
Detective, “it appears there was a narcotics angle to this case unfortunately what can we tell, nothing was taken, because what it appears, at least from the time frame we are dealing with the individuals were surprised to see the victim inside his garage.”
00:04:47 - 00:04:57
Natalia “was this home ever under HCSO’s radar, or had deputies or detectives ever been called out to this residence before?”
Detective “to my knowledge no”
DETECTIVES RECOVERED SURVEILLANCE VIDEO FROM THE RESIDENCE, BUT SINCE THE UNKNOWN SUSPECTS WERE MASKED AND WEARING LONG SLEEVES AND GLOVES, IDENTIFYING THEM HAS BEEN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT.
AT THIS POINT, WITNESSES ARE CRITICAL TO HELP THE INVESTIGATION MOVE FORWARD.
00:06:04
“I am willing to listen to anyone with information regarding this case, if someone has information bu t is scared they can come talk anonymously to the Sheriff’s Office we are willing to listen, I just need an avenue to go down, so I can go after the right people for this investigation.”