Background: The Vale nightclub located on 7123 North Armenia Ave. in Tampa, Fla. (Google Maps). Inset: Jose Zamora Valdes (Tampa Police Department).
Florida authorities are on the hunt for a man after they say he rammed into a nightclub security guard who had kicked him out of the establishment earlier that night.
Jose Zamora Valdes, 32, is wanted on charges of murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, the Tampa Police Department announced. Police have not released the name of the victim, only saying he was a man in his mid-30s.
On Sunday at about 4:30 a.m., Zamora Valdes was at the Vale “after-hours nightclub” on North Armenia Avenue in Tampa, Florida. Investigators say he “was being ejected from the establishment after becoming involved in an altercation with a woman he knew.”
Security staff escorted him out of the club, but as they did so, Zamora Valdes allegedly “pushed the woman, causing her to stumble into another patron.” A brief argument broke out, and the suspect went to his vehicle, according to police.
Meanwhile, the security guard who kicked Zamora Valdes out of the club was walking toward his own car with a friend, a man in his early 40s, police said. The suspect had since gotten in his vehicle and driven north on Armenia Avenue.
According to investigators, Zamora Valdes made a “sharp, intentional turn to strike the security guard” and hit him, also injuring the friend. The security guard was brought to an area hospital with critical injuries, and he later died. The victim”s friend “sustained minor injuries.”
Zamora Valdes “fled the scene,” authorities added, noting that they have found and impounded the vehicle used in the alleged attack. The Tampa Police Fugitive Apprehension Unit and the U.S. Marshals Task Force are working to find and arrest the suspect.
“Our hearts go out to the family and colleagues of the security guard who lost his life while simply doing his job to keep others safe,” Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said. “Using a vehicle as a weapon and driving into unsuspecting victims is a cowardly act, and it has no place in our community. Our officers, detectives, Fugitive Apprehension Unit, and federal partners, are working tirelessly to ensure this dangerous individual is taken off the streets and will face justice for his actions.”
