Robbery Suspect Dead

The prime suspect in of a shopkeeper at is dead, spokeswoman Laura McElroy said in a news release.

Carlos Roberto Laboy, 26, died at 5:36 a.m. at Tampa General Hospital several hours after being shot by a Tampa Police officer early Wednesday.

Tampa Police Officer Greg Pryor shot Laboy outside the suspect's duplex at 1917 Mulberry Dr., McElroy said.

Officers shouted , "Police, stop, don't move," but Laboy made a sudden reach toward his waistband.

"The officers knew this suspect shot an innocent man last week [and] believed he was going for a gun," McElroy said.

Laboy was hit in the hip and was rushed to Tampa General Hospital in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead.

The shopkeeper, 55-year-old Yasmin Sara also remains in critical condition at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Since the attempted robbery that happened Aug. 17 at 1202 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., officers have aggressively investigated the shooting. On Monday, they obtained the gun believed to have been used from a confidential informant. That person led officers to the suspected getaway driver, Pedro Jose Torres, 23, of 1221 E. Columbus Dr., who was arrested Tuesday.

The driver confessed and identified Laboy as the shooter, McElroy said.

Pryor, 34, has been with the Tampa Police Department for 9 years. As per department policy in officer-involved shootings, he has been placed on paid administrative leave while this morning's shooting is under investigation by the prosecutor's office, Tampa Police's Internal Affairs and Homicide Shoot Team.

Laboy was convicted in 2005 of a burglary and criminal mischief. He was sentenced to 27 months in prison but served less than a year, according to the Florida Department of Corrections Web site.

He had been arrested at least 14 times since 2003, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Web site.