ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The 22-year-old man arrested after a 15-year-old girl's body was found dumped near Orange Blossom Trail took the teen and her friend while he sold drugs the night she was killed, new records say.
Melanie Medina was found April 11 at 8:30 a.m. on Ziegler Road the morning after Ramsys Javier Cruz Abreu picked her 16-year-old friend up and took both girls back to his apartment, Orange County deputies said.
Abreu met Medina "only days prior" to her death, and she was living with him after "being kicked out of her home by her mother," according to the arrest report.
The 16-year-old told deputies that sometime during the night, Abreu took both her and Medina with him to sell drugs.
After the transaction, Abreu asked the 16-year-old to grab a gun from the back seat while he counted money, the teen told deputies.
The teen told deputies that Abreu said he was worried about being robbed and to "shoot if anyone" tried to rob him.
Deputies said she placed the gun on her right thigh, and when she turned to adjust the placement of the gun box where the weapon was stored, the gun began to slip from her leg and she grabbed it with her finger on the trigger.
Medina was shot once when the 16-year-old "inadvertently pulled the trigger," deputies said.
Abreu did not take Medina to a hospital and instead decided to dump her body on the side of the road, the teen told deputies.
The gun and the vehicle were both recovered by authorities.
Deputies said Abreu's reckless disregard for human life and the safety of Medina and the 16-year-old led to his arrest.
Abreu is charged with manslaughter and possession of cannabis and unlawful disposition of human remains.