OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A second arrest has been made following a fatal shooting near Kissimmee in November 2023.
Joshua Franceschi, 29, was arrested via warrant Friday by Kissimmee police after a tip to Crimeline advised he had arrived at HCA Florida Osceola Hospital under a false name, records show.
This latest arrest in connection to the Nov. 14, 2023 shooting follows that of Christopher Martin Garrett, 31, who was taken into custody in January. Now, the affidavit for Franceschi’s warrant sheds new light on the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation of the killing.
The victim is identified in these documents as Joshua Daniel Mitchell, who was pronounced dead just before 5 a.m. that day.
According to surveillance footage from nearby businesses, as well as statements from Mitchell’s girlfriend, detectives said the victim and his partner had visited several bars before arriving to Lungo Cafe, where they briefly visited before driving to the girlfriend’s house and finally returning to the business’ parking lot.
The pair had returned to the parking lot with a bottle of whiskey that the victim then shared with Garrett and Franceschi, detectives said. The girlfriend eventually fell asleep in the passenger’s seat of Mitchell’s truck, yet she told investigators that she was woken up by Mitchell telling her he had been shot, then collapsing.
Reviewing the surveillance video, detectives determined that Garrett at one point moved around Mitchell “to a position of advantage,” at which point Franceschi allegedly struck Mitchell while Garrett shot him. Garrett and Franceschi then got into an SUV and sped away toward State Road 535, investigators said.
According to the girlfriend, Mitchell knew Franceschi from an incident several weeks prior in which Mitchell reportedly deescalated a situation involving Franceschi and a gun, the affidavit states. Additionally, when Franceschi initially approached Mitchell the day of the fatal shooting, the girlfriend told investigators that the suspect had referenced the earlier incident and asked if Mitchell remembered him.
Franceschi faces charges of premeditated murder and battery, records show. He’s being held on no bond pursuant to the murder charge.
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