Convicted felon who killed man during argument over bike in 2019 arrested for Plant City shooting

PLANT CITY, Fla. - A suspect accused of opening fire on a driver in Plant City earlier this month while he was on probation for manslaughter is back behind bars.

During a press conference Wednesday morning, Plant City Police Chief Richard Mills announced the arrest of Barron Marion.

In 2019, Marion was 17 years old when he got into an argument over a bike in Plant City and shot and killed the other person, a 51-year-old man.

Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez said he pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a weapon and tampering with evidence. He was released in January 2024 and began a probation sentence.

According to Chief Mills, on Oct. 16, 2024, Marion walked out of a convenience store located at 516 South Maryland Avenue and interacted with an unidentified man in a black sedan.

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He added that as Marion left the property and as the unidentified man was driving away, Marion opened fire and shot multiple rounds at the vehicle.

"He's seen basically conducting surveillance on this individual," said Plant City Police Chief Richard Mills. "As that vehicle drove away, he put himself in a position where it clearly shows that he ran to his position, crouched down and fired specifically at that vehicle."

The man in the black sedan has not been identified, and it is unknown how the pair knew each other. The chief said there is no known motive for the shooting.

According to the Plant City Police Department, a resident in the area said they heard the gunfire and reported that their home had been struck by a bullet. Nobody inside was injured.

"It's very frustrating," said Mills. "That's kind of why I wanted to have this press conference, to make a stand and send a very, very clear message to those that are in Plant City that choose to carry guns or use guns or fire guns, shoot guns, whether it hits somebody or doesn't hit somebody, that we're taking it very seriously. Them getting away with it is in the past."

Plant City police detectives identified Marion from a previous encounter and gathered evidence and leads.

Investigators contacted Marion’s probation officer and got a warrant violating his probation.

The Plant City Police Department worked with the U.S. Marshals Task Force and additional evidence led marshals to a home in Dade City on Oct. 24.

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As the U.S. Marshals, Pasco County Sheriff’s Office and Dade City Police Department were preparing for a K-9 deployment, they saw Marion jump from a rear two-story window of the home.

Marion entered a heavily wooded area and got away from law enforcement officers. However, he was later spotted getting into a car driven by a woman trying to get away.

Law enforcement officers stopped the vehicle and arrested Marion. Police say the woman inside was his girlfriend, Kyloni Lott. She was arrested for fleeing to elude, resisting without violence and child neglect.

Marion is in the Pasco County Jail charged with felon in possession of a firearm, discharge of a firearm in public, shooting at or into a vehicle, shooting at or into a residence, criminal mischief, resisting without violence and violation of probation for manslaughter.

Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez, who did not hold her current office during Marion's previous case, said she plans to seek a maximum 35-year sentence for probation violation, along with an additional 105 years for various other charges connected to the shooting.

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