MELBOURNE, Fla. – The suspected accomplice of a Rockledge man who was killed by a resident during a drug-related home invasion in Melbourne has been charged with the death, police reports show.
Ryan Robert Winfough, 19, of Rockledge, was charged with second-degree murder and home invasion robbery in connection with the botched March 16 break-in at a home in the 1200 block of North Wickham Road, Melbourne police reported.
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Winfough was charged — even though he did not pull the trigger — under a Florida lawthat allows suspects to be arrested for murder if someone dies during the commission of a crime, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
The robbery led to 22-year-old Evan Jackman being shot in the head following a volley of gunfire from the resident who was targeted in the home invasion, reports show.
Melbourne police questioned several witnesses, including the resident targeted by Jackman and Winfrough, reports show. A second person was questioned for a role in the shooting but has not been charged, court records show.
Police said Jackman was wearing a black skull cap, black clothing, a motorcycle facemask and a tactical vest. Several shell casings and an AM-15 multi-caliber assault rifle was strapped to his body, investigators reported.
The targeted person living in the apartment said that he was home alone when he heard a knock at the door. At that point, a man in all black kicked in his door, pointed a rifle at his face and told him to lie on the ground.
Two other men then searched through the apartment, gathering several hundred dollars and four pounds of cannabis stored in glass Mason jars, along with two handguns, reports show.
The resident told police that as the men left, he retrieved a roommate’s firearm, loaded the magazine and ran out to confront the robbers when he thought one of the men appeared to be reaching for a weapon, reports show.
Police later said the man fired 17 shots at the fleeing men, who were riding on a motorcycle, causing Jackman to fall to the pavement while the other man ran off, reports show. The resident was not charged.
Police later questioned a man who turned up at Rockledge Regional Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the back. Winfrough later contacted Melbourne police, saying he wanted to "clear his name," and turned himself in for questioning. He then admitted to being involved with the planning of the home invasion, reports said.
He was booked into the Brevard County Jail Complex Friday.
No further court dates have been set.