Gun found after deadly crash connects driver to months-old shooting, Florida cops say
.jpg "A 19-year-old man was charged in connection with the February shooting of a babysitter after he was involved in a triple-fatal crash, Florida police said.")
A gun found in a car after a deadly crash connected the driver to a shooting that occurred in February, according to a Florida sheriff’s office.
Deputies with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office arrested Miguel Miranda, 19, on July 12 in the shooting of a 16-year-old babysitter in February, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
Deputies responded to a shooting around 7:20 a.m. on Feb. 12 in Deltona and found a 16-year-old with a gunshot wound to his arm, police said.
The teen had been babysitting his 7-week-old nephew and sleeping in a bedroom when two bullets came through a window, according to the sheriff’s office. One bullet struck the teen in his arm, and the infant was not hurt.
Detectives had few leads initially, but follow-up interviews helped direct them toward multiple people of interest, including Miranda, police said.
On April 1, Miranda was driving a car in Daytona Beach when he crashed and three of his friends were killed, the release says. Two of those killed had also been interviewed during the shooting investigation, police said.
Detectives found a 9mm handgun near the driver’s seat while investigating the crash, the release says. A ballistics comparison determined that the gun was the same one used in the shooting of the teen babysitter, according to the sheriff’s office.
Detectives also searched Miranda’s cellphone data and found that his phone had been in the area at the time of the shooting, the release says.
Miranda is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and firing into an occupied dwelling, police said. He is being held on a $400,000 bond.
Volusia County court records did not show charges for Miranda in connection with the crash.
Deltona is about 30 miles northeast of Orlando.
This story was originally published July 13, 2023 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Gun found after deadly crash connects driver to months-old shooting, Florida cops say."