Miami

2 Miami Men Arrested in Lakeland Triple Murder

Two Miami men have been arrested in what authorities say was an "organized execution" of three people in Lakeland, officials said Thursday.

Andrew Joseph, 35, and Jonathan Alcegaire, 26, are both facing several charges including three counts of first-degree murder and attempted murder, Polk County Sheriff's Office officials said.

Joseph was arrested Monday and Alcegaire was arrested Tuesday. Both were booked into the Miami-Dade Jail but will be taken to the Polk County Jail where they will be held without bond.

The two suspects were arrested with the help of the Miami-Dade and Miami Police departments, officials said.

The shooting happened at a home on East Magnolia Drive in the Combee area of Lakeland, about 30 miles west of Tampa, on Jan. 6.

Deputies responding to a call of a shooting at the home found two women and a man dead, officials said. Another man was taken to a nearby hospital with a gunshot wound to his face.

The victims were later identified as David Washington, 23, Eneida “Stacey” Branch, 31, and Angelica Castro, 23. Felix Campos, 18, was hospitalized but survived.

Officials said illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia and two firearms were found in the home. Detectives also learned Washington had made several trips to the Miami area to buy drugs, including the day before the shooting, officials said.

Authorities said Joseph, Alcegaire and another man arrived at the house and one of them got into an altercation with Washington.

Campos told detectives he heard Washington talking with the three suspects before one of them entered his bedroom and shot him in the face. Campos pretended to be dead and heard multiple gunshots, officials said.

Detectives learned that a white U-Haul work van was seen leaving the home, and the van was tracked to Miami-Dade, where it had been rented by Joseph, authorities said.

According to authorities, the robbery was orchestrated by Joseph, whose arrest history includes 29 previous felony charges in Florida, as well as six drug-related charges in Minnesota.

Alcegaire has eight previous felony charges, as well as nine previous misdemeanor charges, officials said.

Detectives are searching for more suspects and are asking anyone with information to call the sheriff's office at 863-298-6200.

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