By Olivia J. Rommel
Herald Intern
The Live Oak Reserve neighborhood located in Oviedo recently experienced a rather intense afternoon.
This intense afternoon began when the Oviedo Police Department received multiple calls that reported two different incidents.
“Some advised of a car crashing into a tree. Others advised of a gun shot,” said Deputy Chief of Oviedo Police Department Brain Foley.
Foley goes on to mention that when the officers arrived at the scene they realized that the separate calls were connected.
According to the arrest reports, on June 20 at 1:16 p.m. officers arrived at 3340 Canoe Birch Pl. in reference to gunshots heard and one of the first things they saw was a silver Toyota sedan that appeared to have been recently involved in a crash that occurred at 3345 Canoe Birch Pl.
The report goes on to explain that officers were able to confirm through video surveillance and post Miranda interviews that a 16, 17 and 15 year old were related in the crash incident. The report finds that the 17 year old, carrying a firearm, approached the 16 year old Toyota silver sedan driver. The report infers the intent of the 17 year old was to rob the 16 year old, but a struggle broke out between the two of them, over the gun. This caused the 16 year old to accelerate the vehicle with the 17 year old hanging out the window, ending in the car crashing into a tree.
“The crash resulted in minor injuries. No one needed to go to the hospital,” said Foley.
After the crash happened, the driver of the vehicle and the passenger ran away from the vehicle. It was written in the report that the passenger, while running, claimed to have heard a gunshot. In the follow up interview with Foley, the deputy chief confirmed the source of the gunfire, stating that, “Your 17 year old subject fired one round, which missed and didn't hit anyone.” Following the missed shot, the passenger claims he saw the 17 year old and the 15 year old at the end of the street before running.
The report then catalogs the 17 year old with the 15 year old, putting his firearm in his own backpack before returning to his own residence where he changes his clothes, grabs his backpack with the firearm in it and leaves his residence with the 15 year old.The report mentions a video surveillance that shows the 17 year old putting on a “beanie and Covid-style mask” before leaving his residence with the 15 year old. Both went to meet up with 20 year old Darren Salazar, at the Riverside Market, where the weapon was disposed of.
Later on in the report, the 15 year old who aided the 17 year old in getting the firearm to Salazar, showed inconsistencies by claiming he was the driver when police found through several witnesses that it was in fact the 16 year old driving the car.
Inside the silver Toyota police did an inventory search of the car they found a tan firearm magazine under the drivers floorboard along with several THC cartridges found in the center console.The 16 year old driver was transported to the Seminole County JAC, facing a charge of possessing less than 20 grams of Marijuana. Meanwhile, the 15 year old was charged with providing false information to law enforcement during a felony investigation and with accessory after the fact to a first degree felony.
At 9 p.m. officers found themselves at 413 Alafaya Woods Blvd due to reference to a suspicious person wearing a ski mask, walking around the apartment complex. While the officers were searching for a suspicious person in the parking lot, a man, sitting by himself in a silver Honda civic that had a New Jersey license plate was found. After requesting his driver license which confirmed it was Salazar he was soon arrested. While Salazar was caught, the handgun that was used for the armed robbery was not found.
“The firearm that was used is still missing. We believe we don't have it in our possession. We're not sure. So we don't have an answer for that. We're still searching for it,” said Foley.
The 15 and 17 year old claim later in the report that they met with Salazar behind a business located at 1949 CR 419 to give him the firearm.
In the process of being transported to John E. Polk Correctional Facility, the report claims Darren stated “told those guys to go to his mother.” Nobody, including him, had anything more to say as he invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Police addressed the missing gun situation further, “While we don't believe we have the firearm in our possession, we don't believe that it’s a danger to the public,” said Foley. Furthermore, police confirmed that the public doesn’t have to worry about being at risk due to suspects knowing each other, “It's isolated, and they seem to have targeted each other based on the fact that they had prior knowledge of each other,” said Foley.
