KEY WEST, Fla. – Two men have been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a woman and her boyfriend last year in the Florida Keys.
Jeremey Macauley, 33, of Tavernier, and Adrian Demblans, 34, of Key Largo, were arrested Monday night in the shooting deaths of Tara Rosado, 26, and her boyfriend, Carlos Ortiz, 30, last October.
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Monroe County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Becky Herrin said an investigation revealed that the shooting was drug-related.
Herrin said Ortiz was in the process of opening a tattoo business with Macauley last summer. She said Macauley had found a large amount of cocaine while fishing off the upper Keys and gave some to Demblans and Ortiz.
At some point, Ortiz and Macauley had a disagreement about the tattoo business, Herrin said. Ortiz then tried to extort money from Macauley by threatening to expose his drug activities to authorities, she said.
Macauley told Demblans about the extortion attempts, and together they plotted to kill Ortiz, Herrin said.
The plot came to fruition Oct. 15, when the suspects drove to Ortiz's home, Herrin said.
Macauley met with Ortiz and followed him inside the home while Demblans waited outside, Herrin said. Several minutes later, Macauley returned outside alone and left with Demblans, Herrin said.
Rosado's three children, ages 3, 4 and 8, woke up the next morning, found the bodies of their mother and Ortiz, and told a neighbor, who called 911.
During the course of the investigation, detectives found text messages and video on cellphones used by Ortiz that revealed his attempts to extort Macauley, Herrin said. Detectives also obtained video from nearby surveillance cameras that showed Macauley and Demblans arrive at Ortiz's home on the night of their deaths, Herrin said.
The gun used to shoot the couple was found in the water near the bridge on Ocean Bay Drive, and an iPhone belonging to Ortiz was found in the same vicinity, Herrin said.
"This case was a tough one, and our thoughts are with the families of the victims -- especially Tara Rosado's children, who have been deprived of their mother," Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said. "We are just glad we were able to bring closure to this case with the arrest of these two men."
Macauley faces two counts of first-degree murder. Demblans faces a charge of being an accessory to murder. Jail records show that Macauley was being held without bond, while Demblans' bond was set at $250,000.