ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A man has been arrested in the 2018 shooting death of 15-year-old Alejandro “Alex” Vargas Martinez, Orange County Sheriff John Mina announced Friday at a news conference.
Martinez was gunned down the morning of Dec. 18, 2018, on Waldo Street near Kaley Avenue while walking to Boone High School, where he was a student.
His aunt, Dolka Martinez, said Friday that these past five years have been very hard without him.
“We think about Alex every single day, we talk about Alex every single day. There’s not one day that passes that we don’t mention Alex in our house. Losing a loved one is very painful, extremely painful, especially the way we lost Alex. They say that time heals, but to be honest it does not. It’s just a patch to a broken heart. We just have to live with it,” she said. “We never lost faith that this day was going to arrive. We know that the truth is more powerful than anything and we know that justice was on its way to be served.”
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
Mina said a grand jury indictment concluded Tuesday for 23-year-old Deandre Florence, who was arrested Thursday and now faces charges of first-degree murder, racketeering and robbery in Martinez’s death.
“(Florence) has been a suspect in this case from the very beginning, has been arrested on multiple charges to include first-degree felony murder, racketeering and robbery,” Mina said. “...This case took a lot of twists and turns in the nearly five years since Alex was killed, and I know, obviously, his mom, his family and I have never forgotten about this case, but our detectives have never forgotten about this case. They work so hard and never forget about these kids who are taken from us in gun violence.”
Mina also addressed the nearly five-year gap from shooting to arrest. He said that the sheriff’s office had been advised by the Orange-Osceola attorney general’s office to go for racketeering charges against Florence, what reportedly necessitated the cooperation of the statewide prosecutor’s office.
Homicide Detective Brian Savelli elaborated about the process.
“As you can imagine, throughout the five years there’s been nine crimes that we were able to link, so that takes a little time to piece together and actually prepare a decent case. So, although he’s been a main suspect for years, it takes time to piece forensics, interviews and things of that nature together to come up with a good case,” Savelli said. “...Robberies, commercial burglaries, stolen vehicles, things of that nature — you know, they formulated an organized crime (racketeering) and that’s what the office of the statewide prosecutors put together for us.”
The news conference took place at Orange County Sheriff’s Office Central Operations on West Colonial Drive.
A message from the school district went out to families following Martinez’s death in 2018, which read:
Boone High families, this is Principal Dusty Johns with some very sad news to share with you. We were made aware by law enforcement that early this morning one of our students was tragically killed on the way to school. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they go through this extremely difficult time. Your child may speak with you and share this sad news. Students will have varied reactions to the death of a peer. Any reaction is normal in the grief process and I encourage you to openly discuss with your child their feelings and reactions. We will have a crisis team on campus to provide counseling assistance for students and staff. In addition, out of an abundance of caution, we will have additional law enforcement presence on campus. The safety and well-being of our students is my top priority. Please do not hesitate to call me if you have any questions or concerns.
Orange County Public Schools (2018)
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: