PALM BAY, Fla. – A man is accused of fatally shooting a teenage boy at a park on Saturday and his mother reportedly tried to help him after the fact, according to the Palm Bay Police Department.
Police said they were called about a shooting at Oakwood Park on Koutnik Road shortly after midnight in which Deven Bryan, 17, suffered a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Hunter Thomas Smiroldo, 18, of Barefoot Bay, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge, records show. He was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
His mother, Patricia Smiroldo, and his sister were arrested on charges of accessory after the fact to second-degree murder, according to a news release. The charges against his sister were later dropped. The case against his mother remains open.
Probable cause affidavits show that about an hour after the shooting, Hunter Thomas Smiroldo texted his mother and told her that he had shot and probably killed someone. but she didn’t see the text until about 5 a.m.
Later that morning, she and another witness picked up Hunter Thomas Smiroldo and he gave them two Glock handguns that his mother had purchased for him two years prior, records show.
Patricia Smiroldo took her son to the police department on Sunday so he could turn himself in, but Hunter Thomas Smiroldo refused to answer questions and there wasn’t enough evidence at the time to make an arrest so he was allowed to leave, according to the affidavit.
After that, the mother and son met with other family members and decided to take the gun and ammunition to another relative’s home, but ultimately Patricia Smiroldo put them in a green duffel bag and threw it by the railroad tracks on Micco Road, where it was located, records show.
Police said Hunter Thomas Smiroldo’s sister also knew that her brother was wanted in connection with the fatal shooting and she was trying to get him to flee the area so she could hide him.
According to the report, an officer in an unmarked vehicle saw his sister assisting him to a vehicle while he had a jacket over his head and then driving away as he ducked in the back seat.
"In 21 years in law enforcement, I have not seen anything like this," Lt. Chris Imel said about the extent to which the family went to allegedly cover up the crime.
Police said the shooting incident was about marijuana.
“It’s very disturbing that you have somebody who you know and who has admitted to them that he shot and killed somebody and instead of being concerned for the family that had just lost a loved one, now you’re taking active steps to prevent that family from getting closure,” Imel said.