A transaction over vaping products turned deadly when the alleged seller shot the 14-year-old buyer in the chest.
The shooting was in 2021 at a park in southwest Miami-Dade. Nineteen-year-old William Garrido, who was 17 at the time, began chatting with Angelo Guzman on Snapchat.
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WATCH HEREThe teens coordinated and met up at a park because Guzman wanted to buy $200 worth of vaping products, including cartridges, batteries and vape pens, police said.
However, according to records, Guzman tried paying Garrido with fake money. That's when Garrido allegedly started shooting.
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Last year, police arrested Garrido two years after the shooting. After nearly a year in jail, Garrido is asking to be placed on house arrest or be granted some sort of bond.
On Wednesday, defense attorneys tried to argue there is no direct evidence Garrido was the shooter.
"The gun was found and they can trace it to this shooting. The gun was not found on Mr. Garrido or anyone linked to Mr.Garrido, but a whole different person in Homestead who has since fled," Richard Gregg, one of two attorneys representing Garrido, said during an Arthur hearing. "They cannot find him and yet they are not investigating him and are charging our client."
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It's unclear how Garrido ended up with the stolen gun used in Guzman’s murder. However, prosecutors are confident he was the shooter.
Police said cellphone data pins the defendant around the crime scene area before and after the shooting. They believe he also posted social media posts about the murder weapon. Through search warrants, they also found a box of ammunition in his room.
"The stamp of the casing found on scene is unique to the brand of the box found in his room," said the lead detective on this case.
A judge did not rule Wednesday because she wanted to review more of the evidence.
