STEVE REID
Editor & Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com
A man has been arrested as the shooter in the 2017 double homicide at Longboat Key’s Zota Beach Resort, a case that has haunted the community for years and remained open.
It was a summer night when two employees, security guard Kevin Carter and front desk manager Timothy Hurley, were shot execution-style during an armed robbery at the beachfront resort. For years, the alleged gunman remained at large until last week.
Last week, detectives charged Damien Garvin, a convicted felon, with first-degree murder. He was already behind bars for an unrelated crime in South Florida, a 2020 shooting outside a convenience store in North Miami Beach. The gun he used in that shooting matched the one identified in the Zota homicide through ballistic testing.
Investigators said Garvin didn’t act alone. Darryl Hanna Jr., a former security guard at the resort, is accused of helping plan the robbery. His twin sister, Latoya, allegedly drove the getaway van. A fourth person believed to be involved died of natural causes before charges could be filed.
Detectives said the gun used in the murders was registered to Latoya Hanna and was later tied to the North Miami Beach shooting.
Garvin is now the third person arrested in connection to the coordinated robbery and killings. Police said the group got away with less than $1,000 in cash.
Anatomy of the Crime
On August 4, 2017, two murders stunned Longboat Key.
In what appeared a double homicide in tandem with robbery for less than $1,000 at the just-opened Zota Resort, Longboaters expressed outrage, disbelief, sadness empathy and sorrow.
Longboaters also expressed fear — fear that the crime might go unsolved. Everyone stared quoting the adage that after 48 hours the chances diminish that a perpetrator will be caught. Soon some relief came.
On Day 5 after the murders, the Longboat Key Police Department announced that 29-year –old Daryl Hanna Jr. was under arrest. It gave a degree of closure to a community and region disturbed by a crime that brought national attention to the otherwise idyllic and peaceful island. It also ended a week of intense police work searching for the suspect.
The night…
Longboat Key Police were initially called to respond to an apparent robbery that occurred at about 2:40 a.m. on August 4 and found two employees dead inside the Zota Beach Resort, located at 4711 Gulf of Mexico Drive.
The victims were Timothy Hurley, 59, who was a Night Manager at the Zota Resort and Bradenton resident Kevin Carter, 51, who worked for Victory Security as the evening security guard at the Zota.
Video generates clues, tips
Following the murders, police released a surveillance video showing a man carrying a semi-automatic pistol in his left hand and in another clip exiting with a cash box. These videos that were part of the Zota security system provided critical clues. First, the man in the pictures appeared to be left-handed. Also, the perpetrator knew that the right-hand door was locked when he is shown exiting. This led police to believe the man was familiar with the property.
Another tip came from a coworker of Hanna’s at Victory Security who said the mannerisms and movements of the man in the video resembled those of Hanna.
Detectives visited Hanna’s Facebook and his pictures showed him holding a firearm in his left hand and carrying one on his left hip, indicating he was left handed. That matched the suspect in the video carrying a gun in his left hand. He also commented that he owned a 9-mm on Facebook. Police believed that was the gun he used to shoot Hurley and Carter.
Piecing it together…
When police contacted the security firm, Victory Security, that employed Hanna as well as the murdered victim, Carter, they learned more.
Police were told Hanna resigned the day of the murders and that he was the only person who when news about the killings emerged, did not call to ask what happened. Instead, police were told Hanna asked how many times the victim was shot.
Police analyzed the cell phone that Hanna had use of to conform that 12 calls were made on the morning of the murders from Longboat Key.
Then the police also used the license plate reading cameras that are located on both ends of the Key, which confirmed that a vehicle exited the Key following the murders.
Police Chief account
On the day after Hanna was arrested, then Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming held a press conference in Town Hall on Longboat. He told the dozens of media outlets and members of the public on hand that the perpetrator, Hanna, had worked at Zota as a contracted security guard working for Victory Security Company in the weeks leading up to the murder. Cumming said Hanna shot and killed night manager Timothy Hurley and fellow security guard Kevin Carter and then stole $900 and fled the scene.
It turns out Hanna had numerous gripes with his pay and hours according to coworkers and had resigned just prior murders. Cumming also said that Hanna knew exactly the layout of the building and location of the cash box and safe.
“He was clearly familiar with the layout of the building and the entrances and that likely caused him to get in without being noticed,” said Police Chief Pete Cumming.
Cumming said he did not think the incident was intended to be just a robbery gone wrong.
Hanna worked as a security guard for the resort just two days prior to the slayings.
The security company asked Hanna to come to work the night of the slayings, but Hanna said he had a new job as a cook and then resigned.
“There seems to be some disgruntled nature, something that occurred,” added Cumming.
It turns out that Hanna had been arrested for theft and had other criminal behaviors and incidents in his background including being charged for marijuana and cocaine possession.
Investigation
Darryl Hanna was apprehended without incident at a residence in east Bradenton by members of the Longboat Key Police Department and Manatee County Homicide Investigative Unit. He was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of armed robbery.
Darryl Hanna, the first suspect arrested, has since passed away before standing trial.
Darryl Hanna friend, Gernicha Davis, who was also involved in the crime, told detectives what happened, but she too passed away before charges could be brought against her.
Police determined Darryl Hannafriend and his sister, Latoya Hanna, were involved. In January 2024, the Longboat Key Police Department said Latoya Hanna was arrested for felony murder for her involvement in the case, but it wasn’t over.
A break came in 2020 when investigators came across a murder charge against Damien Garvin, Latoya Hanna’s boyfriend.
An arrest affidavit for Garvin said the group of criminals ordered Carter to the floor, as they forced Hurley to empty the resort’s cash drawer.
According to the affidavit, Garvin told Hurley to open the safe. Hurley said he didn’t have the combo to open the safe. The affidavit said Damien told Hurley if he didn’t open the safe, he was going to ‘kill him.’ Hurley told Damien he didn’t have the code.
A member of the group, Gernicha Davis, who passed away since the crime, said she heard a gunshot and Hurley yelling out. Garvin told Hurley to open the safe once more. When he did not, Garvin shot and killed Hurley. On their way out, the affidavit said Garvin shot Carter several times as the group fled.
Garvin is scheduled to be back in court on August 22.
