MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – A 15-year-old boy is facing multiple charges in connection with the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old boy in northwest Miami-Dade.
Miami-Dade police announced Wednesday that Darrell Hobley is facing charges of manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a minor and improper exhibition of a firearm.
The shooting was reported just after 1 p.m. Tuesday at a home on Sierra Drive.
According to authorities, the victim, Mekhi Stevenson, his 15-year-old brother and three other male friends were inside a room in the home when Hobley pulled out a gun to show the group.
Police said Hobley pointed the gun at the other teens and at the walls and also removed and reinserted the magazine into the magazine-well of the gun.
“The victim’s brother took the firearm and after looking at it, told the defendant that the firearm was loaded and that there was a cartridge in the chamber,” the arrest report stated. “The victim’s brother also told the defendant to stop playing around with the firearm and put it away.”
But police said Hobley didn’t put it away, but pulled the slide back partially to check it and said it wasn’t loaded because it didn’t eject a cartridge.
“The defendant continued to wave the firearm recklessly in different directions,” the arrest report stated. “He pointed the firearm at the victim and intentionally pulled the trigger once, striking the victim in the chest.”
Stevenson tried to walk to one of the doors in the home, but collapsed to the floor, authorities said.
Police said Stevenson’s friends fled the scene.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue officials responded to the scene, along with police, and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.
“Mekhi Stevenson was a good person -- he was a fun person to be around,” one of his friends told Local 10 News. “He always had a smile on his face, he liked to dance, play around, have fun with his teammates and friends.”
While police were able to detain the suspected shooter, they are still searching for two other boys involved in the shooting.
A spokesperson for Miami-Dade County Public Schools confirmed Tuesday that Stevenson was not a current student in the district, but had played football at North Miami Senior High School.
The victim’s coach, along with members of his friends and family, mourned him at the scene of the shooting on Tuesday.
“That was my quarterback,” coach Gerald Cox said through tears. “(He was a) kid who did everything I asked him to. Busted his butt for me. Took us to the playoffs...he’s going to be missed.”
“I want the world to know that Mekhi was a really great kid,” said Anthon Samuel, Stevenson’s older brother. “I just don’t want this incident to be a misrepresentation of who he was.”
“I don’t get the chance to see what his future would have been like,” said Sonya Stevenson, Mekhi’s mother. “He had a bright, bright future ahead of him--a real promising future and it was cut so short so soon.”
A vigil was held for Stevenson on Wednesday night, with candles lit in the shape of an M for Mekhi and the number three, which was his jersey number.
Anyone with further information is asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.