CASSELBERRY, Fla – Two months after a man was killed in a hit-and-run while walking his dog, another suspect has been arrested in connection to the crime, according to police.
Court documents reveal that Casselberry police believe 22-year-old Sebastian Abreu set fire to the suspect’s vehicle.
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The Florida Highway Patrol said the deadly hit-and-run happened on Ragle Circle near Shadow Oak Drive earlier this year.
Jorge Albert De Castro, 63, was walking his dog at night when he was struck and killed by a silver Audi, troopers said. Troopers added Castro’s dog was uninjured.
Troopers said the driver in the hit-and-run was 22-year-old Maya Calzada, who was arrested last month on charges of negligent homicide/vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run/failure to remain at a crash involving a death, and perjury.
An arrest affidavit for Abreu shows he was suspected of helping Calzado cover up the crime. In the affidavit, detectives said they spoke to Abreu near where they found the Audi torched and abandoned after the hit-and-run.
Police said they stopped to talk to him because he matched the description from a 911 caller of a man walking away from the area of the fire.
Abreu told detectives he was “buying weed” and had just left his drug dealer’s house, according to an affidavit. He also said that he never saw the burned Audi, the document shows.
Police said they interviewed a witness who told police he had seen Abreu with the damaged Audi following the hit-and-run. The witness also told officers he saw Abreu first attempt to cover the car with tree branches and later asked for Lysol wipes and gasoline, police said.
Flowers and a cross surround the spot on Eagle Circle where the deadly hit and run took place, and neighbors who learned about Abreu’s arrest said it was what they had been waiting for.
Koropsak told News 6 that he would often see De Castro walking his dog. He said the tragedy has left an impact on their close-knit community.
“I knew him for quite a few years. He was a nice guy, kept quiet,” Koropsak said.
Abreu faces charges of arson and tampering with evidence, and court records show he also has a probation violation out of Miami-Dade County. He is expected to be back in court on Sep. 20.
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