ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A year later, no arrests have been made in connection with the death of a 15-year-old boy who was gunned down while walking to Boone High School.
Alejandro Vargas Martinez was killed around 6:30 a.m. Dec. 18, 2018 near Waldo Street and Kaley Avenue.
Records show that shortly before he was shot, Martinez called his mother and told her he would use money he earned from his part-time job at Winn-Dixie to help her pay the bills.
[RELATED: 15-year-old Orlando boy fatally shot walking to school identified | Students mourn loss of classmate gunned down walking to school | Vigil held for 15-year-old boy shot while walking to school]
Friends and family described the slain teen as a loving boy who helped his loved ones any way he possibly could and always stayed out of trouble.
“He was just an electric personality. Just a loving person. He always talked about how he was caring for a younger sibling,” a former teacher said during a vigil last year.
Days after the crime, Orange County deputies released surveillance video that showed a four-door sedan making a U-turn in a residential area before the shooting happened.
A Crimeline reward that was initially set at $10,000 was increased to $15,000 at the start of 2019 in hopes of generating more leads in the case and prompting witnesses to step forward.
Still, 911 calls released in April didn’t indicate any kind of motive or suspect information.
“No, I don’t know how to explain in English, but he’s almost dying,” a witness said.
In July, about seven months after the shooting, court documents were released that linked 19-year-old Deandre Florence to the crime.
Those reports indicate that detectives believe Florence had information about the case and was riding in a gray Mitsubishi that is a vehicle of interest in the case. Florence claims he’s not connected to the crime.
He’s currently being held at the Orange County Jail on a second-degree felony murder charge. In that unrelated case, Orlando police say Florence and 16-year-old Denim Williams robbed Curtis Fulcher of an iPhone X during a sale.
Records show Fulcher opened fire, killing Williams.
Florence is not facing charges related to Martinez’s death.
A year after the shooting, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been identified.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477).