Pasco grand jury indicts three on murder charges

NEW PORT RICHEY –- A grand jury this afternoon indicted three men accused of violently taking four lives.

Jackie Lee Braden, Bryan Gregory Heater and Derral Wayne Hodgkins all were indicted on first-degree murder charges by a grand jury of 13 women and five men after six hours of testimony and deliberations.

In Braden’s case, he was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder, accused of gunning down his mother and stepfather last month in their Shady Hills home. There was also evidence that the victims' home had been robbed.

Braden, 36, celebrated that night at the Hard Rock Casino, authorities say, and was later caught with $194,000 in cash and 43 pounds of marijuana.

"I hit it big, bro,'' he reportedly told a witness.

The next decision: Should these men face the death penalty for their capital crimes? That will be up to Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe.

"Mr. Braden’s case certainly cries out for that,'' said Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett.

All three men are being held in the Pasco County jail. After Circuit Judge Thane Covert unsealed the indictments, he ordered that each man should be held without bail.

Three hours after neighbors said they heard gunshots at the Wrights’ home, a video surveillance camera caught Braden walking into the Hard Rock Casino in Tampa.

Authorities say a relative discovered the bodies of Sherrill and David Wright, both 54, in their Shady Hills home on Feb. 11.

When Braden was arrested in a Pinellas motel hours later, authorities say he had his stepfather's wallet in his pocket and his stepfather's pick-up parked outside.

The oldest case is that of Hodgkins, 48, who was arrested on Nov. 16 on a charge of first-degree murder. DNA evidence, authorities say, linked Hodgkins to the stabbing and strangling of girlfriend Teresa Lodge. She was found dead Sept. 26, 2006, in her Land O’Lakes apartment.

Hodgkins' criminal history could make him a candidate for the death penalty, Bartlett said. Hodgkins was released from prison in 2004 after serving time for beating and raping a 12-year-old Tampa girl in 1987.

Hodgkins' indictment took months to come together because prosecutors wanted to do some more investigative work before indicting him.

Heater, 27, was indicted on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He’s accused of firing a gun at three people on Feb. 24 in the parking lot of Diamonds Gentlemen’s Club on State Road 54. Kellie Zorka, 27, of Holiday, was fatally wounded and died at Bayfront Medical Center days later.

- Jamal Thalji, Times staff writer