ORLANDO, Fla. – The woman facing charges connected with the death of a 15-year-old girl whose body was dumped in April 2017 along an Orange County road was sentenced to prison Thursday.
Deputies said then-17-year-old Luana Diaz was riding in a car with with Ramsys Cruz Abreu, 23, and Melanie Medina when a gun being held by Diaz accidentally discharged, striking Medina.
Cruz Abreu faced several charges, including manslaughter, in connection with Medina's death. However, all charges except tampering with evidence were dropped against him as part of a plea deal in August 2018. Cruz Abreu was sentenced to six months in prison.
Diaz, now 19, was charged in April 2018 with failure to report a death, tampering with evidence, interfering with a dead body, lying to law enforcement and perjury. Prosecutors said Diaz lied under oath and impeded the investigation.
According to investigators, Diaz said that on the night of April 10, 2017, Cruz Abreu gave her a gun and told her to shoot if she felt she needed to, while he made a drug deal.
Diaz said they left an apartment complex and drove to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts near the Mall at Millenia, and that is where she said the gun slid out of her lap, according to officials. She said when she grabbed it, the gun fired, according to investigators.
Authorities said the bullet traveled through the front seat of the car, where Medina was sitting, and hit her in the left side of her torso, cutting two main arteries.
The pair dumped Medina's body along Ziegler Road in Orange County, and the girl told investigators Cruz Abreu drove her home, according to the investigative report. Medina's body was found the next day.
During the plea deal Thursday, Diaz plead no contest on all five charges and was found guilty. She was sentenced to two years in prison.