good morning I'm else kind of Sheriff Bob Gualtieri and we're here this morning to talk about a murder that happened here in Pinellas County specifically in the High Point area which we call clear water but it's unincorporated Pinellas County in the victim in that murder has a result of a robbery is Marco waters marco was shot killed on februari 26 2001 in front of 15 231 Verona avenue Marco had recently received a five-thousand-dollar tax refund check and he was as I said the victim of a robbery where he was shot and killed we're unsure exactly how much money was taken in the robbery but based upon various accounts it was probably somewhere between three and ten thousand dollars marco was killed in front of his sister's apartment his sister takita who's here this morning and will speak to you Marco's sister witnessed the robbery and described the suspects as two black males who wore bandanas over their faces during the course of the investigation detectives developed two suspects in the murder of Marco Willie Clark and John Clark both black males Willie is serving a life sentence in the florida department of corrections in the state prison system for robbery and john clark will be released from the state prison system in 2020-21 also serving an extensive prison sentence for robbery and the other folks are here this morning our members of the springtime club in Clearwater and these are in yonder and others are concerned citizens who are trying to help law enforcement the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office and the clearwater police department and others trying to break this unfortunate but is reality code of silence on the street because the quote word on the street is in given to detectives that willie clark was the shooter of Marco witnesses did put Willie Clark in the High Point area around the time of the murder but we've been able unable to get a witness to come forward to prove quote word on the street Clark did brag that night about having committed a robbery but it's insufficient and doesn't provide us enough evidence to charge Willie or John Clark Willie and John Clark are cousins Willie Clark was interviewed and as you can imagine he denied being the shooter and handful implicated John Clark is the shooter John Clark has been interviewed and he points to Willie is the shooter but denies any personal involvement in the robbery or the murder and this evening the family and members of the springtime Club are going to hold a vigil out in high point in the area where the murder occurred and the hope the desire the intent is to get somebody who's got information because we know there are people out there that have first-hand knowledge and have first-hand information but our reluctant scared and we understand why to come forward and provide what's necessary to approve a criminal case and allow us to charge those who are responsible for this murder and we want people to know that the family needs closure and this is about providing closure for the family providing accountability in providing justice and while people are reluctant afraid sometimes to come forward it's the right thing to do and we want them to do that we need them to do that we need help and that's where these ladies in the springtime Club are trying to break down that barrier in the community and encourage people to do the right thing and to come forward and to help the family get the closure and to provide justice this is something that we can't do alone law enforcement can't do alone because we need the community's help and support we need witnesses we have to be able to prove a case and word on the street is not enough but there's enough there we're confident we know who committed a crime now it's a matter of being able to prove it so with that I'm going to turn it over to taketa who will share some remarks on behalf of the family hello I'd like to say um thank the Sheriff's Department thank the media for coming out Oh even though it's been 14 years it's not easy 14 years you know the holidays the birthdays the kids birthdays you know you're thinking wonderful what would you do but all I can do is say what would he have done Oh in dance you know everybody want to know you know you run around you're talking if I say something I'm a snitch it's not a snitch you're just giving a family closure just point them in a sense of direction oh I know I'm jumping around y'all uh-huh I'm gonna be sure this week if anybody y'all know anything please come forth Marco had a lot of friends and I know y'all some y'all may know something and again it's not being a snitch it's just leading them into the right direction um tonight there is a candlelight vigil for him wrong in Nam a hotpoint area at the community center from 79 and I like everybody to be there um yeah I like this is a tough time for the family as you can tell and again you know they need closure and it's not about being a snitch it's about doing the right things about helping these people out who have been devastated by Marcos death and they're still feeling the pain after 14 years and we would like nothing better to help them to get that closure but we need the community help and the community support and for somebody to come forward so I'll take any questions that anybody has and order the family sure sure who wants to wants to speak to that is he y'all are better equipped to do that than I go ahead and just tell him your name my name is Stacy Mathis I am the mother of four of Marcos children he has a total of six they're all up here um marco was was a good dude he was a hard worker he was um he was loved by many like he was loved by many um and we have of course I have four kids with him and he has two daughters with Maria it's been it's been hard because I mean he was my first love the father my children and had a smile that lit up any room had a giving heart a kind person and just I would say to anybody imagine it being your brother your son your friend your cousin your father when you want somebody to tell what happened if they knew what happened it can't bring them back but they give us closure I'm 14 years we celebrated so much and we just celebrated graduation of his firstborn my oldest son a glorious occasion but also was bittersweet because his dad was not there to participate in that on ball around marco was that Michael was a nice guy giving just he was a good person and he did not deserve to be taken from his family the way he was at 23 years old and thank you miss Yolanda and it's great time club for all your dedication though many many text messages and emails and for putting our kids story out for bringing it back to the spotlight and not a good spotlight but is it's a good spot light because they can get closure and the person or people who did this you impact our lives in a bad way but you did not make us fall it's triumph out of tragedy and the springtime club has really been a driving force to help us get to this point to be able to put it back out there and to share with the community who Marco is who marco was and for us to get closure so thank you yeah in the springtime club is another part of this story yeah I first met Yolanda probably I know about a year ago or so and she came to me and wanted to partner with the Sheriff's Office you'd been working with clear water for a while and they try I don't think they need to but they try and take a low profile and fly under the radar they don't like notoriety they don't like publicity they like their message to be publicized but they individually is the women of springtime club and we've been able to invent proud to and fortunate to improve which to be able to support them in a number of efforts number of events and we'll continue to do that because these ladies are what's right about the community they're doing the right thing for the right reasons it's not about them it's about trying to help others and to help their community and to make a difference and to make change and to affect change with something that's hard what they're trying to do is not easy but they're trying to do is extremely difficult they're trying to break down that code of silence that barrier and that wall between the community and law enforcement and in the name of doing the right for these folks which is the family so I really applaud the springtime club for their efforts it really is a grassroots effort but it's a very sophisticated effort in many respects and they've got it right and they're the kind of people that we need as we talk about issues and concerns and relationships between law enforcement and the community and the troubles of the community around the country is that these ladies and this organization are doing the right thing and they're doing it for the right reasons and it's a great partnership that they have with law enforcement so they deserve recognition for that although they don't want it they deserve it so my hats off to them on their efforts and what they're doing you can just tell from the family that they are making a difference they are having an impact and after 14 years that were able to again make this plea and bring this case back to light because there is somebody out there that knows something these guys ran their mouths we know they did we need the people that heard it from them firsthand to come forward so that we can have that corroboration we can substantiate the criminal charges we can make the necessary arrests and importantly bring closure to the family and provide accountability and let the criminal justice system work