Two men have been arrested after being accused of a violent home invasion that left one woman dead and a second critically injured in Tice on Sunday.
According to the Lee County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a 911 call from a woman who reported that she and another woman had been attacked and shot by two men.
When deputies arrived at the home, they found one victim lying on the couch with multiple stab wounds and the second victim lying on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood. Both victims were transported to Gulf Coast Medical Center in critical condition.
According to the arrest report, crime scene investigators found multiple indications of drug activity at the home, including vacuum-sealed bags consistent with marijuana sales and a small bag of hallucinogenic mushrooms in the kitchen where one of the victims was found.
Detectives also found an unloaded firearm in the back bedroom, though there was no evidence it had been used in the attack.
The sheriff's office said they learned the two suspects had plotted to rob the women during the narcotics transaction. During the course of the robbery, they stabbed both victims.
A search of the victim's phone also revealed that a drug deal was scheduled to take place at the home. Analysts scoured through hours of camera footage, license plate reading technology, and cell phone records to establish two persons of interest.
Surveillance footage from a nearby tire shop and witness statements also helped identify Shad Loveless, 45, and Zachary Williams, 21, as suspects.
Neighbors reported seeing two men walking toward the home between 11:30 a.m. and noon, one of whom matched Loveless's description.
The report states that the suspects were later seen on video driving a truck belonging to Tammy Howard to a nearby Dollar General before walking toward the victim's home.
Loveless was arrested during a traffic stop, and Williams was apprehended at his home on Scott Avenue, where he also had an outstanding warrant for burglary.
Both suspects were interviewed by detectives and face multiple felonies, including second-degree murder, home invasion with a weapon, and aggravated battery.