ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — On Tuesday, Rafael Villaverde was arrested for the murder of two brothers.
It happened on Aug. 6 outside the Heritage Hotel on South Orange Blossom Trail.
The arrest comes weeks after the Orange County Sheriff's department released body cam footage showing exactly what happened when an officer fired their weapon at one of the brothers who was holding a gun.
The video shows the moments before Orange County deputies shoot Bryan Richardson.
Richardson is seen holding a gun in his hand.
One deputy tries to grab the gun while deputies tell him to drop his weapon.
It happened as deputies tried to save Richardson's brother, Dylan Jimenez, who was lying on the ground after he was allegedly shot by another person, Villaverde.
Villaverde was arrested Tuesday for second-degree murder of Jimenez and second-degree felony murder for the death of Richardson.
"Byan and Dylan's mother is still inconsolable, but hearing about these charges brought against Villaverde brought her some solace,” said Albert Yonfa, partner at NeJame Law Firm.
But the attorney representing the brother's family says Richardson was protecting the deputies and that he didn't have time to drop the gun.
“We've spoken with numerous witnesses and all of their testimonies are exactly the same. The deputies knew for at least five minutes that Bryan was pacing back and forth with a firearm in his hands with their consent to provide coverage because it was still an active shooting situation,” Yonfa said.
WESH 2 News did reach out to the Orange County Sheriff's Office late this evening. We haven't heard back yet.
The case is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Villaverde is being held on no bond.
Source: wesh.com
