Nearly two years after a mass shooting outside a Kendall hookah bar during a graduation party left three people dead and five others injured, police said they've arrested five people in connection with the incident.
Jeremy Emmanuel Devine, 22, James Albert Johnson III, 20, Aaron Joseph Clermont, 20, Willie Lee Thomas III, 21, and Melchelzadek Jacory Matthews, 21, have all been arrested in the June 6, 2021 shooting, Miami-Dade Police officials said Friday.
Thomas, Matthews and Devine face second-degree murder charges, police said. Clermont faces charges including possession of a short-barrel weapon, possession of a controlled substance and grand theft, while Johnson is charged with possession of cannabis with intent to sell, police said.
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The shooting happened around 2:20 a.m. at a strip mall parking lot near the intersection of Southwest 104th Street and 109th Court.
Police said the graduation party at the Hookah Inn lounge was just finishing and as patrons were leaving, vehicles pulled up and gunmen opened fire.
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Several people were shot and drove themselves to a local hospital, while a vehicle that fled the scene crashed into a wall at nearby Miami Dade College's Kendall campus, police said.
Two men were found dead inside the car, police said.
Killed in the shooting was Tyleisha Taylor, an officer with the Florida Department of Corrections. Family members identified one of the men killed as 22-year-old William Everett Jr.
Police haven't released a motive for the shooting.
"I am incredibly proud of my detectives for their hard work and dedication in capturing the individuals responsible for the senseless shooting at the Hookah Lounge during a graduation party. I understand how important it is for families to receive closure and justice when their loved ones have been victimized," Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez said in a statement. "I want to thank our local, state, and federal partners for their unwavering commitment to serving and protecting our community. I will continue to utilize all my resources to create a safe and healthy society where gun violence is no longer a threat to individuals and members of the community."
Devine, Clermont and Johnson were arrested in Miami-Dade. Thomas was arrested in Atlanta, and Matthews was arrested in Fort Myers, police said. Both are awaiting extradition.
"After almost two years of dedicated collaboration between my team of Assistant State Attorneys and the Miami-Dade Police Department Homicide Detectives, those responsible for the tragic deaths during what was supposed to be a night of celebration, are finally being brought to justice," Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said in a statement. "The over a dozen warrants that my prosecutors generated and filed assisted the difficult work of our law enforcement partners gathering the necessary information and leads that have resulted in these arrests and the filing of criminal charges. It is my hope that the families of the victims may now begin their journey of healing and find the justice they so deserve."
