The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office announced it’s arrested five people — four men and a women — in connection with a shooting death in south St. Cloud in October.
Four have been charged with felony murder, and the alleged trigger-man Carlos Luis Lopez-Bayona was charged with pre-meditated murder, Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez said Wednesday.
“They will be in jail for the holidays, and we hope they have a lengthy jail sentence,” Lopez said. “The victim’s family and friends will have holiday justice.”
Alexis Vargas-Algarin, 30, was discovered dead in a pool of blood on Oct. 11 at a home on Henry J Avenue near Deer Run Road. He had been shot four times, including once in the face.
There were no witnesses who saw or heard anything, the Sheriff said, and no cameras in or around the mobile home on an open lot. The case was solved, Lopez said, thanks to finding a single fingerprint on Algarin’s car. Detectives and forensic teams’ work turned that fingerprint into solving the case.
“It made it difficult for us. This case was solved with old school boots-to-the-ground forensic work,” said Lopez.
Lopez-Bayona reportedly gave detectives a full confession of the killing, admitting to shooting Vargas-Algarin because he believed Vargas-Algarin would kill him, “So he had to kill him first,” Lopez said.
Belky Chavarria told investigators what happened, and gave up three more names of those involved in the crime. She said Gelson Ovidio Perez-Garcia brought a sledgehammer to break down the door. The plan was for those three to rob the victim. Lopez said the group split up what money they did get in the incident; he wasn't sure but said he thought it was about $700.
“He was supposed to take back home but left it at the scene. These people weren’t too bright,” Lopez said.
Joshua Valle-Martinez said everyone knew the plan was to rob Vargas-Algarin. He heard Lopez-Bajona tell the victim to get on his knees, then saw him shoot the victim four times.
Jose Michael Martinez drove the getaway van. Chavarria said she sat in the van and watched the other three go into the home.
Check back for updates to this case and story.
