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Shooting in Eatonville may have fatally wounded man found in crashed car in College Park, deputies say

Victim ID’d as Darrell Lee Merricks Jr., 30

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Multiple law enforcement agencies worked potentially related incidents Friday night that spanned from Eatonville, where investigators said spent shell casings were found, to College Park, where a man who was shot was located in a crashed car, according to a news release.

Orange County deputies met with Eatonville police on Samuel Street around 5:10 p.m. to respond to a possible shooting in the sheriff’s office’s jurisdiction. Though it was where the casings were located, deputies said they could not find any victims or witnesses there.

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Later, after Orlando police officers responded to a car crash at Princeton Street and Westmoreland Drive in College Park, the sheriff’s office was contacted by Orlando Police Department homicide detectives, according to the release.

Those officers found a man inside of the crashed car who had been shot, facilitating his transport to a hospital where he was pronounced dead, deputies said. The man was identified by deputies as Darrell Lee Merricks Jr., 30.

Orlando’s detectives told the county’s that they believed Merricks was shot at the scene in Eatonville which, according to the release, the sheriff’s office also believes. Additionally, investigators think the crashed car was previously at the Eatonville scene, though it was not explained whether that detail was due to witness statements, surveillance footage or otherwise.

No other details were provided.


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