Topline: Three Tampa teenagers are now facing adult attempted murder charges after investigators said they targeted homeless people for entertainment and left a 64-year-old man critically injured.
Published: August 30, 2026 11:34 am ET
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From left: Corliss Sirmons, Javonnie Council, and Samari Bryant (via Tampa Police Department)
TAMPA, FL — Three Tampa teenagers are being charged as adults with second-degree attempted murder after investigators said they beat a 64-year-old homeless man so badly in July that he suffered a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs and other severe injuries.
According to Tampa Bay 28, the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office said 13-year-old Samari Bryant, 14-year-old Corliss Sirmons and 16-year-old Javonnie Council will be prosecuted in adult court in the attack on the homeless man, who was found outside the Walgreens at 3917 N. Nebraska Ave. and was unable to speak with police because he was on a medically necessary ventilator after the beating.
The case began on July 13, when the teens admitted they were looking for homeless people to “mess with” because they were bored, investigators said. Tampa police said the victim was found around 7:45 a.m. behind a closed business in the 3900 block of North Nebraska Avenue with cuts to his face, major swelling, a crooked nose and critical injuries that left him hospitalized on a ventilator.
Police said detectives later tied that attack to an earlier, initially unreported assault around 2:30 a.m. in the 800 block of East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where a white man and woman were resting when three males approached them, antagonized them and threw rocks. The woman was struck in the back of the head but was not seriously injured, and investigators said the two scenes were less than a quarter-mile apart.
In a July 21 update, Tampa police said Bryant and Council had already been arrested on July 16 after an unrelated call about multiple auto burglaries on Emma Street, where officers recovered clothing and other evidence that linked the group to both assaults. Sirmons, who was already being held at the Hillsborough Juvenile Detention Center on unrelated charges, was later charged in connection with the attacks, and prosecutors said all three defendants will be transferred from juvenile detention to adult court while the state seeks to keep them jailed without bond until trial.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
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Three Tampa Teens Charged as Adults in Attempted Murder Of Homeless Man
Three Tampa teenagers are now facing adult attempted murder charges after investigators said they targeted homeless people for entertainment and left a 64-year-old man critically injured.
By Aaron Stephensen
Published: August 30, 2026 11:34 am ET
From left: Corliss Sirmons, Javonnie Council, and Samari Bryant (via Tampa Police Department)
TAMPA, FL — Three Tampa teenagers are being charged as adults with second-degree attempted murder after investigators said they beat a 64-year-old homeless man so badly in July that he suffered a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs and other severe injuries.
According to Tampa Bay 28, the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office said 13-year-old Samari Bryant, 14-year-old Corliss Sirmons and 16-year-old Javonnie Council will be prosecuted in adult court in the attack on the homeless man, who was found outside the Walgreens at 3917 N. Nebraska Ave. and was unable to speak with police because he was on a medically necessary ventilator after the beating.
The case began on July 13, when the teens admitted they were looking for homeless people to “mess with” because they were bored, investigators said. Tampa police said the victim was found around 7:45 a.m. behind a closed business in the 3900 block of North Nebraska Avenue with cuts to his face, major swelling, a crooked nose and critical injuries that left him hospitalized on a ventilator.
Police said detectives later tied that attack to an earlier, initially unreported assault around 2:30 a.m. in the 800 block of East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where a white man and woman were resting when three males approached them, antagonized them and threw rocks. The woman was struck in the back of the head but was not seriously injured, and investigators said the two scenes were less than a quarter-mile apart.
In a July 21 update, Tampa police said Bryant and Council had already been arrested on July 16 after an unrelated call about multiple auto burglaries on Emma Street, where officers recovered clothing and other evidence that linked the group to both assaults. Sirmons, who was already being held at the Hillsborough Juvenile Detention Center on unrelated charges, was later charged in connection with the attacks, and prosecutors said all three defendants will be transferred from juvenile detention to adult court while the state seeks to keep them jailed without bond until trial.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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Three Tampa Teens Charged as Adults in Attempted Murder Of Homeless Man
Three Tampa teenagers are now facing adult attempted murder charges after investigators said they targeted homeless people for entertainment and left a 64-year-old man critically injured.
By Aaron Stephensen
Published: August 30, 2026 11:34 am ET
From left: Corliss Sirmons, Javonnie Council, and Samari Bryant (via Tampa Police Department)
TAMPA, FL — Three Tampa teenagers are being charged as adults with second-degree attempted murder after investigators said they beat a 64-year-old homeless man so badly in July that he suffered a traumatic brain injury, broken ribs and other severe injuries.
According to Tampa Bay 28, the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office said 13-year-old Samari Bryant, 14-year-old Corliss Sirmons and 16-year-old Javonnie Council will be prosecuted in adult court in the attack on the homeless man, who was found outside the Walgreens at 3917 N. Nebraska Ave. and was unable to speak with police because he was on a medically necessary ventilator after the beating.
The case began on July 13, when the teens admitted they were looking for homeless people to “mess with” because they were bored, investigators said. Tampa police said the victim was found around 7:45 a.m. behind a closed business in the 3900 block of North Nebraska Avenue with cuts to his face, major swelling, a crooked nose and critical injuries that left him hospitalized on a ventilator.
Police said detectives later tied that attack to an earlier, initially unreported assault around 2:30 a.m. in the 800 block of East Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, where a white man and woman were resting when three males approached them, antagonized them and threw rocks. The woman was struck in the back of the head but was not seriously injured, and investigators said the two scenes were less than a quarter-mile apart.
In a July 21 update, Tampa police said Bryant and Council had already been arrested on July 16 after an unrelated call about multiple auto burglaries on Emma Street, where officers recovered clothing and other evidence that linked the group to both assaults. Sirmons, who was already being held at the Hillsborough Juvenile Detention Center on unrelated charges, was later charged in connection with the attacks, and prosecutors said all three defendants will be transferred from juvenile detention to adult court while the state seeks to keep them jailed without bond until trial.
Presumption of Innocence: A presumption of innocence means that any defendant in a criminal trial is presumed to be innocent until they have been proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The defendant in this case is only accused of the charges set forth in the criminal complaint. They are innocent until proven guilty.
Editor's Note: ThePo makes every effort to accurately transcribe the contents of affidavits of probable cause contained in criminal complaints. Often, the complaints themselves are copies of copies of faxed copies, and are difficult to read. To confirm the accuracy of our transcription, contact the Magisterial District Court listed above and request a copy of the criminal complaint. It's a public record to which you are entitled.
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