Sanford Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect in connection with the incident that left Brandon Leo, 23, dead in a pond.
In July, police responded to a call about a shooting in the area of West 3rd Street and Pomegranate Ave. Once they arrived, officers found a white pickup truck submerged in a retention pond at the intersection. According to police, Leo was in the truck with a gunshot wound.
The investigation revealed that the victim was meeting with an unknown individual to sell a pair of headphones.
Leo arrived at the location and was sitting in the driveway, when at least two unknown individuals approached the driver’s side of the vehicle.
Police say Leo put the truck in reverse then several gunshots were fired. The truck continued to reverse into the pond behind it and the truck was still in reverse when found. Chief Cecil Smith stated, “A family is grieving the loss of their son over a pair of headphones. ‘Senseless’ doesn’t begin to describe this tragedy.”
On Wednesday, when Sanford Investigators identified a 15-year-old as one of the suspects, the teenager was already in custody on two unrelated charges.
At the first hearing his mother told WFTV 9, “My son is not the one who harmed that young man. And I just want his family to know that my heart goes out to them but Dra’shawn Williams is not the shooter.” She is adamant that her son is innocent.“ It’s sad that my baby has to sit in here for somebody else doing something that they had no business doing,” she said “ That's God's honest truth.”
Investigators have not disclosed how they linked the suspect to the shooting and the second one has not been identified. The next hearing is September 9 and the investigation is ongoing.
