A Palm Beach County jury has found De’Vante Moss not guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder in connection with a September 2024 shooting outside the 365 Ocean hotel in Boca Raton that left two people dead and a third wounded. Moss still faces a pending charge of felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, with a calendar call set for October 8.
The shooting unfolded on September 20, 2024, when Boca Raton police responded at 4:53 p.m. to gunfire outside the hotel, according to WPBF 25 West Palm Beach. The 365 Ocean hotel is an extended-stay boutique property at 365 North Ocean Boulevard along State Road A1A, across from South Beach Park near Palmetto Park Road, as The Coastal Star reported at the time. Police said the hotel sits near the Atlantic Ocean, per the station's report.
Police said Moss, who was from Boynton Beach, and 32-year-old Chandler Dill, of Oakland Park, had been together in a hotel room and appeared to argue, according to then-Boca Raton Police Chief Michele Miuccio, per the same account. Moss fled the room carrying Dill's purse and headed toward his silver Jaguar, where Dill chased after him yelling for her belongings, the station's report states.
Bystanders Intervene as Argument Turns Deadly
Court records reviewed by The Coastal Star showed 49-year-old Christopher Liszak, a guest staying in Room 102, and a second man intervened as Good Samaritans when Dill confronted Moss in the parking lot. Liszak, who lived in Oakland Park, intervened near the driver's-side door while the second man approached or opened the passenger-side door during the physical altercation before Moss grabbed a gun from the vehicle and opened fire, per the same account.
Police said Moss shot all three victims: Liszak was struck in the chest and killed, Dill was shot in the neck, forearm and upper back and also died, and a third man was shot in the abdomen and suffered life-threatening injuries, according to the outlet's report. That surviving victim was reportedly shot initially and again while seated or on the ground with his hands raised, and his identity was withheld by police because he was a witness, per The Coastal Star. Police said the shooting was captured on surveillance video and confirmed by witnesses, according to WPBF.
Cross-State Chase Ends in Predawn Arrest
After the shooting, Moss drove to his home in Boynton Beach before his fiancée told police he packed a bag and said he was headed to Jacksonville for work, per WPBF's account. Detectives instead determined he was traveling toward Georgia, and Miuccio said police alerted the Georgia State Patrol, according to the same report.
Boca Raton detectives obtained the silver Jaguar's license plate from surveillance footage and entered the vehicle into a nationwide law-enforcement database, which let Georgia authorities intercept him, CBS News reported. A Georgia state trooper and a Laurens County sheriff's deputy stopped Moss's vehicle at approximately 5:20 a.m., roughly 12 hours after the shooting, and took him into custody without incident; he was the only occupant of the vehicle, according to WPBF. Moss was held in the Laurens County jail before being extradited to Florida, per the same report.
Defense Claimed Drug Dispute, Prosecutors Alleged Robbery
The case hinged on dueling narratives over what triggered the fatal confrontation. Defense attorneys argued Moss took Dill's purse because she had stolen a bag of illicit drugs from him, while prosecutors argued the purse-taking was itself an act of robbery, according to court proceedings detailed by The Coastal Star.
Court filings also showed the defense claimed Moss had gone to Room 101 at the hotel to pay $100 for sex with Dill, though attorneys disputed whether sexual activity occurred, the outlet reported. That account was used by the defense to explain why Moss was at the hotel in the first place.
Stand Your Ground Denied, Then a Jury Acquittal
Before the trial reached a jury, Circuit Judge Scott Suskauer denied Moss's Stand Your Ground self-defense motion to dismiss in May, ruling that Florida law does not allow a convicted felon or robber to arm himself and shoot people during a robbery, according to Boca Raton Magazine. That ruling forced the case toward a full jury trial rather than a pretrial dismissal.
Despite that setback for the defense, the Palm Beach County jury ultimately found Moss not guilty of the murder and attempted murder charges, according to WPBF. The outcome came after prosecutors had already opted in February 2025 not to seek the death penalty against Moss on the first-degree murder charges, per BocaNewsNow.com.
Gun Charge Keeps Moss Behind Bars
Moss is not walking away entirely free. He remains held in Palm Beach County Jail on the pending charge of felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, with Judge Suskauer setting a calendar call for October 8 at 8:30 a.m., WPBF reported.
Under Florida Statute § 790.23, possessing a firearm or ammunition as a convicted felon is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, with actual physical possession carrying a mandatory minimum three-year sentence, according to the statute published on Online Sunshine.
City Leaders Sought to Reassure Residents
In the aftermath of the shooting, Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer said the city would arrest, charge and bring to justice people who commit crimes there, per WPBF's report. Singer also said Boca Raton continues to buck the national trend of rising crime rates, while Miuccio said the city has experienced a continued decrease in violent crime over the last five years, according to the same account.
Moss was later identified, arrested and formally charged in connection with the initial shooting at the 365 Ocean hotel. The case now moves toward the October 8 calendar call, with Moss's firearm possession charge still unresolved.
