Charges Filed After Fatal Shooting of St. Petersburg City Sanitation Worker

On Wednesday afternoon a routine street‑cleaning shift in St. Petersburg turned tragic when 47‑year‑old Tasha Moses, a mother of four who worked as a sanitation technician for the city, was shot to death inside her front‑loader. The community was left reeling, and the hunt for the suspect quickly went national.

Police now say the alleged gunman, 43‑year‑old Ladavion King, has been formally charged in Lee County. The list of accusations is long enough to keep a courtroom busy for weeks: second‑degree attempted murder with a firearm, discharging a firearm in public, unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, and eluding a law‑enforcement officer. In addition, St. Pete police have secured an arrest warrant charging him with first‑degree murder and felon‑in‑possession of a firearm.

The Florida Highway Patrol released a timeline that reads like a thriller. Around 12:30 p.m., troopers received a be‑on‑the‑lookout alert for King, who was believed to be suicidal after the homicide. When officers tried to pull him over on I‑75 south at Exit 128, King bolted, leading to a high‑speed chase.

State troopers finally wrested control of his pickup with a precision‑time (PIT) maneuver near the Alico Road exit. According to body‑camera footage from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, King barricaded himself inside the truck, refusing to exit despite repeated commands. The vehicle showed obvious damage—bullet holes peppered the front and rear windows—adding a grim visual to the standoff.

Eventually, officers were able to subdue King, but not before he suffered injuries that landed him in a hospital in serious condition. Officials have not disclosed the nature of those injuries, only confirming that he remains under medical care as of Saturday.

Meanwhile, the city mourns Moses. Co‑workers described her as a “bright, caring” person who loved her kids and took pride in keeping St. Pete’s streets clean. A candlelight vigil is being planned, and city leaders have promised to support her family.

The case now moves forward to the courtroom, where prosecutors will argue that King’s actions were premeditated and reckless. The community, still shaken, hopes the legal process will bring some measure of closure.

As the investigation unfolds, the public can stay updated through local outlets like WTSP and Patch, which continue to track developments in this heartbreaking story.