An 18-year-old man, identified as Devonta Tremaine Washington Jr., is facing a slew of charges following the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old during a botched armed robbery attempt in Winter Haven. The Winter Haven Police Department states that the incident occurred at the Abbey Lane Apartments on Monday at roughly 1 p.m., where Washington and the now-deceased teen attempted to purchase a cellphone from an 18-year-old driver, WFLA reports.
According to the authorities, an altercation broke out when the man with Washington began striking the driver with a gun. It was at this point that the driver, in a bid for survival, moved to the backseat of his Kia Soul and fired his weapon, hitting the aggressor. "Washington fled on foot running through the apartment complex and an adjacent neighborhood," as stated in a release obtained by the WTSP.
Detectives conducted a follow-up investigation and interviewed Washington who confessed his involvement in the incident. "Washington talked about the incident and included he called to arrange the transaction for the cellphone," WFLA quotes the police report. The victim had allegedly told Washington he was "probably" going to rob the victim and wanted Washington to come along in case anything happened—a detail that led detectives to charge Washington with several crimes.
These charges include second-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, and tampering with physical evidence, FOX 13 News states. The police report has yet to disclose the identity or current whereabouts of the Kia Soul’s driver who, in the throes of a life-threatening attack, acted in self-defense.
