SANFORD, Fla. – A Seminole County public defender said he expects the trial involving Allen Cashe to begin at the end of the year, which is not soon enough for the father of two of the victims, who is demanding answers as he waits for justice.
"A whole year, I can't see my baby's face," Branden Christian said.
Cashe is accused of killing his girlfriend and shooting five other people, including two children and a Winter Springs High School student, in March 2017, in two shooting incidents described by police as "horrific."
Christian's two boys -- 8-year-old Brendon Christian and Branden Christian Jr., who would be 10 years old -- were among the victims. Christian Jr. did not survive the shooting.
"Allen Cashe need to be dealt with," Christian Sr. said.
Cashe faces the death penalty, and online court records show the case is still in the discovery stage, with already more than 60 depositions completed.
But that's not enough for the father, who said he can't move on without justice for his children.
"I want some answers," he said. "It took 24 hours for my son to die and he's still living. It's crazy."
Police said officers were called to a Wawa gas station in Sanford at 3:20 a.m. because Cashe and Tina Herring, the two boys' mother, were arguing over a set of keys.
Sanford Police Chief Cecil E. Smith said Cashe was searched and, at the time, had no weapons on him or in his vehicle.
Cashe and Herring said the argument had not been physical. Officers calmed them down, separated them and left the scene, Smith said.
At 3:37 a.m., police received another 911 call, this time from a third party who said a woman was being battered while walking down West 25th Street. While trying to find the victim, later identified as Herring, police received another 911 call saying that a man had a gun, according to a news release.
Officials determined that Herring and Cashe were once again involved in a dispute, so they went to the home at 209 Hays Drive and found the pair in the yard arguing about the keys once again, police said.
Cashe was searched a second time and officers determined he had no weapons on him, Smith said.
Herring gave the officer a red bag of Cashe's belongings that included a 9 mm Glock handgun, police said. The Glock was not used in the shootings and at no time did Cashe possess or handle it, Smith said.
Officials said Cashe was not arrested because the disputes were civil and police had no evidence that any crime had taken place. Smith supported his officers' actions.
"There is no way for us to predict what was going to take place. We did everything that we believe was possible. We searched him, we searched his vehicle, we searched his surroundings around him as well and no firearm was found," Smith said.
Cashe also faces a slew of other charges, after police say Cashe shot Herring's father and shot at a group of students at a bus stop about a block away. He also is accused of shooting at a sixth victim.
Cashe is currently locked up at the Orange County Jail for security reasons while he waits for his day in court.