News website
www.nbcmiami.com reports that the Coral Springs Police have arrested three suspects in
connection to a 17-year old's death.
The three men, all adults, were arrested Thursday and are being charged with
first-degree murder.
The 17-year old was found dead on the side of the road in Coral Springs
on Tuesday night. Police say that the three men and the 17-year old were
in the process of conducting a drug deal in front of a house on the street.
The three men reportedly had planned to steal the narcotics from the 17-year
old. After the three men allegedly took the drugs, the 17-year old grabbed
on to their car until he eventually fell off, dying from his injuries.
The suspects drove off and left him on the road and a resident found his
body that night.
The three men are being held in the Broward County Jail without a bond
as first-degree murder is a
non-bondable offense.
Obviously, the maximum punishment for first-degree murder is death by lethal
injection. However, the necessary aggravating factors may not be present
in order for the Broward State Attorney's Office to seek the death penalty.
The men are being charged with first-degree murder right now because the
police have likely determined that their crime was felony murder. That
is, the murder occurred during the course of a robbery where the three
men were allegedly trying to steal drugs from the 17-year old.
Formal charges usually come 21-30 days after the arrest. The Broward State
Attorney's Office will do an investigation into the facts and circumstances
of the case and at that time they will file formal charges.
Murder is an exceptionally serious crime. It takes a skilled
Miami-Dade County criminal defense attorney to defend a client against murder charges. Most of the time, murder cases go to
trial due to the fact that plea offers are either unacceptable, or not even
considered.
In Florida, however, judges
mustimpose a
mandatory life sentence to anybody convicted of first-degree murder.
I practice criminal defense in Miami-Dade and Broward. I have handled both
murder and attempted murder cases, including at the trial level.
Contact me to discuss the circumstances of your case, or the case of your loved one.