TAMPA, Fla. — A Tampa man will spend the rest of his life in prison after prosecutors said he shot and killed a 23-year-old man during a sexual encounter involving his boyfriend, then turned the gun on his partner and fired multiple rounds through a bedroom door.
Dewayne Gallishaw, 29, was sentenced Friday, Aug. 28, to two life sentences and an additional 30 years in prison following his convictions for first-degree premeditated murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
The case dates to April 19, 2023, when Gallishaw and his then-26-year-old boyfriend invited a 23-year-old man to their apartment on Marsh Harbor Place in Tampa for what prosecutors described as a sexual encounter.
According to court records cited by WFLA, Gallishaw welcomed the man into the apartment. The victim and Gallishaw’s boyfriend then began having sex.
At some point, Gallishaw walked out of the apartment. His boyfriend followed to check on him, but Gallishaw reportedly told him he was fine and instructed him to return inside.
What happened minutes later turned the encounter deadly.
Gallishaw returned to the apartment, went into a bedroom and retrieved a firearm. Prosecutors said he returned to the living room, pointed the weapon toward his boyfriend and then shot the 23-year-old victim twice in the head.
The victim was critically injured and transported to Tampa General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Boyfriend Became the Next Target
Gallishaw’s boyfriend survived what prosecutors characterized as a separate attempt to kill him.
After the initial shooting, the boyfriend retreated to a bedroom, locked the door and called 911.
Gallishaw kicked down the door, according to the arrest affidavit. The two men struggled, and the boyfriend managed to force Gallishaw outside the apartment and lock the front door.
Gallishaw did not leave immediately.
Instead, authorities said, he opened fire through the closed door multiple times before eventually fleeing.
The boyfriend survived the attack and became a key witness to the events inside the apartment. Jurors later heard witness testimony and reviewed body-camera footage and helicopter surveillance video as part of the prosecution’s case.
Neighbor Struck by Gunfire
The violence also spilled into a neighboring apartment.
A woman in her 70s was sitting in her living room when she heard a disturbance and gunfire coming from the neighboring unit.
Investigators determined that rounds fired during the attack traveled into her apartment. Authorities said Gallishaw fired at least 12 rounds into the neighboring residence, and the woman was struck in the foot.
She survived.
The injury resulted in the aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge that ultimately added another 30 years to Gallishaw’s sentence.
Arrested the Following Day
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to the Palms at Sand Lake apartment complex at approximately 7:25 p.m. on April 19, 2023, following reports of shots fired.
Deputies initially described the incident publicly as an altercation involving three people inside an apartment.
Gallishaw was arrested the following day and booked on charges of first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
At the time of the shooting, authorities did not publicly disclose the sexual circumstances surrounding the encounter.
Those details emerged later through the criminal case and Gallishaw’s arrest affidavit.
Jury Convicts Gallishaw
More than three years after the shooting, Gallishaw went to trial in July 2026.
Prosecutors presented evidence showing that Gallishaw left the immediate encounter, returned, retrieved a handgun and opened fire.
A jury found him guilty of first-degree premeditated murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery.
On Aug. 28, a judge imposed life imprisonment for the murder and another life sentence for the attempted murder of Gallishaw’s boyfriend. He also received 30 years for shooting the neighboring woman.
The sentences mean Gallishaw will spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
Assistant State Attorneys Scott Harmon and Crews Chambers prosecuted the case.
Neither the 23-year-old homicide victim nor Gallishaw’s boyfriend has been publicly named in the law-enforcement and news reports reviewed for this story. The boyfriend survived the attack.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said after Gallishaw’s original arrest that it hoped his capture would provide some measure of closure and healing for the victim’s family.
