ORLANDO, Fla. – A 10-page arrest warrant for a woman accused in a fatal drive-by shooting in July provides details as to how she was identified as a suspect, but it doesn’t shed any light on why shots were fired.
The Orlando Police Department on Thursday announced the arrest of Marqia Angelia Hamilton in connection with the death of 41-year-old Eloy Lebron, who was found dead behind the wheel of his 1998 Toyota Tacoma on West Anderson Street on July 23.
Records show a person who was in the truck with Lebron was among the first to be interviewed. That front seat passenger said they were driving on West Anderson Street and as they crossed Jernigan Avenue around 12:30 p.m., shots were fired from another vehicle, according to the report.
[TRENDING: ‘God, forgive me:’ Mom arrested on murder charge | Trump pushes for 2nd round of $1,200 direct payments | Daylight Saving Time debate]
The passenger had to duck down to avoid being struck.
Another witness said both Hamilton, who was the passenger, and the woman who was driving fired shots at Lebron. News 6 is not naming the driver because she has not been arrested.
From there, police said they pulled surveillance footage from a camera located at West Anderson Street and North Westmoreland Drive that showed a white 2004 Saturn Ion traveling north as Lebron’s truck was driving south.
The Saturn drove by the Tacoma, then made an immediate U-turn, police said. After the shooting, the Saturn sped off and drove the wrong way on a one-way road, where it almost crashed head-on into a white work truck with two brothers inside, according to the warrant.
Records show the Saturn had to swerve into parking spaces to avoid the crash.
The driver then drove to a residence on West Concord Street.
The passenger in the work truck said he saw the driver of the Saturn stick their arm out and fire a gun, according to the report.
Police said surveillance video captured an image of the driver of the Saturn, who was a woman in a white tank top, and it captured a license plate number, which led them to discover that the Saturn belonged to Hamilton’s mother.
On July 24, records show police pulled over the Saturn and detained Hamilton and another woman who was not listed as a suspect in the shooting.
Hamilton said she and the woman she identified as the driver of the vehicle were in the area of the shooting the day before to buy marijuana but she said they left when they heard gunshots, according to the report.
Police said Hamilton provided details about the events before and after the shooting but was “deceptive” about what happened at the time of the shooting.
The woman who was reportedly driving the Saturn was also interviewed that day and said Hamilton directed her to an area where they could buy marijuana but she drove away when they heard gunshots, records show.
Like Hamilton, police said that woman provided very little details about the events at the time of the shooting.
“When questioned directly about witnesses stating the gunfire came from their vehicle she stated, ‘I didn’t shoot,’ implying someone else was shooting from the vehicle,” a detective wrote in the report.
[RELATED: ‘We want this to stop:’ Orlando family wants to see arrest made in fatal shooting | Arrest made in fatal shooting on Anderson Street in Orlando]
Hamilton and the other woman were not arrested at that time.
According to authorities, detectives also went to a McDonald’s that Hamilton and the other woman were at before the shooting and pulled surveillance footage that showed they were wearing clothing that matched the descriptions witnesses provided.
Police said they seized Hamilton’s cellphone, the accused driver’s cellphone and other cellphones that were found in the Saturn and found that based on GPS data, Hamilton and the other woman were in the area at the time of the shooting.
Based on that evidence, a warrant was issued Tuesday for Hamilton’s arrest on a charge of manslaughter with a firearm charge.
Lebron’s family said that he worked as a flight attendant and moved to Florida a year and a half ago to live with family after he suffered an injury.
“He touched all of our hearts and our lives in a way that it’s, it’s unsurpassable amounts,” said Lebron’s cousin, William Morales. “He wasn’t just another number. Somebody who succumbed to the unfortunate events that are happening in the world we live in. He was a very good person.”
Police said the investigation is active and ongoing.