Pinellas sheriff says overdose death shows complete disregard for human life

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri is calling attention to the drug epidemic and says a recent death is a prime example of that and it also shows a complete disregard for human life.

The sheriff said deputies were called to a report of a dead body in an alley on the morning of Jan. 8, and it soon became apparent the victim had died of a drug overdose.

“She had been wrapped in a sheet and there had been a carboard box placed on top of her that was covering her as she lay in that alley,” said Gualtieri.

Deputies identified the victim as Jillian Tully, 30 who has no known address, but a long history of arrests related to drug problems.

“She’s not a bad person, she’s an addicted person who ended up doing some bad things and she ended up in trouble and ended up in the system and ended up being transient and having this huge problem and it’s because of addiction,” said Gualtieri.

He said deputies soon learned she had last been seen in the motel room of John Yeckley, 56 who works as a maintenance man at the Gateway Motel on 34th Street.

Deputies found security camera video that shows Yeckley and Michael Sloan, 42 loading the victims body onto the back of a cart on the back of a bike and then taking the body to an alley and dumping it.

The sheriff said Yeckley didn’t know the victim, but knew she was homeless and he invited her into his room where they both used drugs.

“He woke up at about 5 in the morning and Tully was dead on the floor in his motel room, as opposed to doing what he should have done, which is call the police and report it, he went outside and recruited Michael Sloan, who is a local transient to help him get rid of Tully’s body,” said Gualtieri.

The sheriff said in 2022 and 2023, deputies responded to 1,500 overdose calls in Pinellas County.

“So, that’s an average of 35 to 40 opioid deaths in Pinellas County every single month,” said Gualtieri.

The sheriff said another 175 people are brought back from the brink of death every month by Narcan.

He said since 2020, Narcan has been administered more than 8,000 times in Pinellas County.

“I think we need to figure out a way, as a community, as a state, to do more with these individuals. We need to be more effective with case management and driving these people into treatment in the right direction,” said Gualtieri.