ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A 17-year-old was arrested on Monday in the shooting death of a missing pregnant 16-year-old girl last month, according to Orange County Sheriff John Mina.
Mina said Lorenzo Larry, 17, faces second-degree murder charges in connection with De’Shayla Ferguson’s death on Oct. 24. The sheriff said Ferguson was 20 weeks pregnant at the time of her death.
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The girl, who turned 16 years old days before the shooting, was found on Broken Pine Circle, just west of Hiawassee Road near Clarcona Ocoee Road with a gunshot wound to the head, the sheriff said.
OCSO has arrested 17-year-old Lorenzo Larry on charges of Second Degree Murder in the killing of 16-year-old De’Shayla Ferguson on Oct. 24. He also faces charges of killing of an unborn child by injury to mother. De’Shayla was 20 weeks pregnant when she was murdered. pic.twitter.com/dwp7sZtRO9
— Orange County Sheriff's Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) November 8, 2022
Mina said the shooting happened after a “heated argument,” and the suspect fled. Larry was later found in Polk County, according to Mina.
The sheriff said Larry was also a suspect in the shooting death of 23-year-old Jemile Pittman, who was found dead in a car in December 2021. She was found with one gunshot wound to the head, the sheriff said.
“He admitted to shooting Jemile but claimed it was self defense, although he fled the scene, disposed of a gun and fled to another state. So in those cases where the suspect claims self defense, we work closely with our state attorney’s office,” the sheriff said. “We give them our investigative report for them to review so they can make a determination on that case. That was done back in July, and the state attorney’s office has not made a determination in that case as of yet.”
Mina said he expected the state attorney’s office to charge Larry as an adult for the deaths of Ferguson and her unborn child.
“We have to acknowledge that someone who amasses this many gun charges and is responsible for the killing of two women and an unborn child needs to be behind bars for a very, very long time,” Mina said.
A missing persons report shows Ferguson was last seen visiting a Florida Department of Children and Families office on Aug. 12 as a transfer from Seminole County and was to be placed with a family before she appeared in court the following day.
Workers said that Ferguson began arguing with staff at the office and left the facility.
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