ORLANDO, Fla. – A man accused of shooting and killing a Boone High School student in 2018 refused a plea deal on Friday and will instead go to trial.
Deandre Florence was arrested two years ago on a charge of murder in the December 2018 shooting death of 15-year-old Alejandro Vargas Martinez.
Florence did not appear in court for the hearing and was represented by his new attorney, David Glicken.
“My office has been retained by the family to come in,” Glicken said after the brief hearing. “Mr. Florence wants to have a trial in this matter.”
[VIDEO BELOW: Students react to death of classmate]
The judge set a pre-trial conference for mid-September.
Martinez was shot to death during a robbery while he was walking to school, Orange County sheriff’s deputies said.
Florence, 18 at the time of the shooting, was a suspect in the case but was not arrested until five years later.
Florence was also charged in a series of other crimes at the time, including burglaries and car thefts, sheriff’s officials said.
[VIDEO BELOW: Death of Boone HS student investigated]