SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – An afternoon in a quiet Oviedo neighborhood turned chaotic this weekend after an attempted armed robbery led to a car crash, a gunshot and an alleged effort to cover up the crime.
News 6 is learning that four people are now facing charges, including a man previously arrested while wanted for attempted murder in New Jersey.
Oviedo Police started investigating what they believe to be a “drug deal gone bad” in the Live Oak Reserve neighborhood Saturday afternoon.
According to arrest reports obtained by News 6, the incident began around 1:13 p.m. when a 17-year-old approached the driver’s side window of a silver Toyota sedan — driven by a 16-year-old — with a firearm concealed in his backpack.
A physical struggle broke out over the weapon. As the two fought, the driver floored the accelerator with the 17-year-old still hanging onto the outside of the car — sending the vehicle crashing into a tree at a nearby residence, the reports state.
A woman who lives there says she heard the commotion but didn’t immediately realize what had happened.
“We thought it was fireworks, because it’s almost the Fourth of July,” she said.
It wasn’t until police came to her door that the full picture became clear. She showed News 6 the damage — splintered wood and car parts still scattered at the scene days later.
“You can see the skid mark right there. So, they probably came from that way and lost control,” she said.
After the crash, the driver and a passenger fled the scene on foot. According to the arrest reports, the passenger heard a gunshot while running and turned to see the two suspects at the end of the street before continuing to run.
The 17-year-old and a 15-year-old with him then returned to the 17-year-old’s home nearby. Once there, police say the 17-year-old changed his clothes and placed the firearm in his backpack. The two then left to meet with 20-year-old Darren Salazar near The Riverside Market — off County Road 419 — to hand off the gun, according to the reports.
Investigators say both teens later admitted to giving Salazar the weapon so he could dispose of it.
Oviedo police arrested three juveniles in connection with the case. The 16-year-old driver was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription after a tan extended firearm magazine, and multiple THC cartridges were found in his vehicle during an inventory search. The 17-year-old faces the most serious charges, including armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony, tampering with evidence and providing false information to law enforcement during a felony investigation. The 15-year-old was charged with accessory after the fact to a first-degree felony and providing false information to law enforcement.
Salazar was located that night at an apartment complex on Alafaya Woods Boulevard, seated in a silver Honda Civic bearing a New Jersey license plate. He was identified by detectives as a person of interest in the case, and two of the teens confirmed he was the person they had given the gun to, identifying him by his nickname, “Huncho.”
A search of Salazar’s person and the vehicle did not recover the firearm. He was charged with tampering with evidence in a criminal proceeding and contributing to the delinquency of a minor and transported to the John E. Polk Correctional Facility.
It was not Salazar’s first run-in with local law enforcement. Court records show he was out of jail following an October arrest — one that News 6 was first to report — when Seminole County Sheriff’s Office deputies used their vehicle to stop him from fleeing at a busy Winter Springs intersection.
At the time, Salazar was wanted for attempted murder in New Jersey.
Following that arrest, records show Salazar was booked in the Seminole County jail and transferred to Orange County the next month for a separate case. News 6 confirmed with the jail in Orange County that Salazar was booked on a domestic violence charge there, posted a $500 cash bond the next day and was released.
Right now, Salazar is back in custody at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility in Seminole County following his latest arrest. News 6 has reached out to prosecutors in New Jersey to find out whether Salazar was ever extradited following his arrest in October - and if not, why.