DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – A young man and a teenager have been charged in connection with a shooting in Deerfield Beach that left a 19-year-old man dead, authorities announced Friday.
Omari Odelin Garcia, 19, of Miami, and a 16-year-old, whose identity has not yet been released, both face third-degree murder charges.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call about a single-vehicle crash at the Heritage Circle Condominiums around 7 p.m. on Jan. 12.
When deputies arrived to the 4300 block of Northwest Ninth Avenue, they found an unresponsive man, identified as Bryan Fonseca, who had crashed his black 2018 Mercedes-Benz AMG C43 into a tree after being shot.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue personnel transported Fonseca to Broward Health North, where he died on Feb. 2 after being in a coma for three weeks.
The victim’s father, Joseph Fonseca, told Local 10 News reporter Roy Ramos last month that his troubled son had recently moved out of his house after refusing to follow his rules, but he did not deserve to be killed.
“It hurts! It hurts! Every time I talk about him, every time I remember him, every time I realize I’m not going to see my son anymore, it hurts,” he said, later describing his son as a “fun, nice, happy kid, who was the party of the house.”
According to BSO spokeswoman Gerdy St. Louis, the investigation led detectives to Garcia and the teen, who was arrested by Coral Springs police on Feb. 29 on an unrelated charge.
BSO detectives obtained arrest warrants for both suspects on March 2, although the 16-year-old was already in jail.
Garcia was arrested in Miami on Wednesday, St. Louis said.
As of Friday afternoon, Garcia was being held at the Broward County Main Jail.
The deadly shooting has left the victim’s family devastated but also relieved that justice was served.
“I was relieved,” said Joseph Fonseca when hearing about the charges. “At least it gives us comfort to know those guys who killed my son are in jail.”
He appeared in bond court in the morning, where his parents spoke in his defense, saying he had no prior arrests and had just graduated from high school.
It was stated in court that the shooting was the result of a drug deal.
A judge ultimately set his bond at $250,000 bond.
Prosecutors said they plan to file a motion to upgrade the charges against Garcia and the other suspect.