The Sixth District Court of Appeal of the State of Florida has affirmed the conviction of Kierra Kashayla Russ. Russ was the first defendant to be tried for their involvement in the Club Blu mass shooting in Fort Myers. The crime occurred on July 24, 2016, when an 18-yearold and a 14-year-old were shot to death outside of Club Blu after gunfire erupted. Fourteen others were injured.
Russ was sentenced to life in prison on each of two counts of Second-Degree Murder in June 2022 following a trial conviction. The then 24-year-old Lehigh Acres resident was also sentenced to 15 years in prison for one count of Conspiracy to Commit Murder.
Assistant State Attorney Sara Miller, of the State Attorney’s Office Homicide Unit, and Special Prosecutions Assistant State Attorney, the late Anthony “Tony” Kunasek, prosecuted the case.
Evidence presented at trial showed Russ was inside the club the night of the shooting and received texts from her friend, and co-defendant, asking her to let him know about the location of “opps,” or people with whom he had been feuding with. She replied that she would “peep” out what cars the opps were driving afterward and later provided the information. Shortly thereafter, cars pulled up and multiple shots were fired at the crowd leaving the club. The hectic scene had people running for cover and ducking to avoid being shot.
The Fort Myers Police Department headed the investigation. “Operation Club Blu” was then formed and the resources of the Fort Myers Police Department, the FBI, State Attorney’s Office, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and U.S. Marshals Service were joined to exhaustively gather evidence.
The collected evidence was then presented to the multi-agency Club Blu Task Force, formed by State Attorney Amira Fox, for review and analysis.
The work of the task force led to the arrest of five people: Demetrius O’Neal, Derrick Leon Church, Tajze Akir Battle, Don Dontrill Loggins, and the defendant, for the crimes.
Samantha Syoen – State Attorney’s Office Communications Director