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Liam Nicholson, 28 left, and Maximo Mercado, Jr., 41, have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder after police say they fatally shot a man at a weekend birthday party. PHOTOS/OSCEOLA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has made two arrests in a murder that occurred Sunday.
Maximo Mercado, Jr., 41, and Liam Nicholson, 28, have been arrested and charged with second-degree murder and a number of firearms charges in the death of Steven Jesus Perez, 31, early Sunday morning on Doncaster Court, off San Lorenzo Road in Poinciana.
Deputies issued arrest warrants for the suspects Monday, and they were detained on Tuesday.
Sheriff Marcus Lopez said an altercation outside a family birthday party, a physical confrontation escalated into a shooting around 1 a.m. Responding detectives found multiple shell casings around the home and in the grass. The two suspects then fled the scene in a black vehicle, which a Sheriff’s helicopter was able to follow to a residence on Brookstone Drive in Kissimmee, where two subjects got out ran to a nearby pond and threw multiple items in. Divers searched the pond and found a black pistol, Lopez said.
The pistol was positively identified by Mercado as the gun he used to shoot the victim. He initially said he threw the gun in the yard after shooting “at” the victim, but later said he took the gun with him from the scene.
Nicholson said he admitted fighting with and punching the victim at the party, then running to his car to get a gun after he reported he saw the victim brandish a firearm. He allegedly fired the gun from the black vehicle, which then fled to Mercado’s house.
The investigation showed the victim was retreating from Mercado, and was shot multiple times. They were arrested Monday.
Nicholson has been charged with second-degree murder, accessory after the fact, discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, tampering with evidence and battery. Mercado has been charged with second-degree murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling, and tampering with evidence.
“I want to thank my deputies, patrol and the violet crimes units and State Attorney (Andrew Bain)’s office who put the package together for us to make this arrest,” Lopez said. “We appreciate the time and effort everyone put into this case to bring it to a rapid closure. Only the victim and family will be able to get justice.”
