DAVENPORT, Fla. — One man is dead and another is behind bars in Polk County after a drug deal turned robbery ended with gunfire, the sheriff's office said.
The investigation began just before midnight Tuesday, Dec. 19, in the parking lot of the Tropicana Resort Motel located on Highway 27 in Davenport.
When deputies arrived, they met with 44-year-old Christian MacDonald of Davenport, the man who called them. MacDonald said he had shot and killed 33-year-old Harold Omar Sepulveda-Cruz in self-defense.
He reportedly told deputies that Cruz had gotten into the backseat of the car he and another man, 31-year-old Robert Rafael Pementel-Cruceta Jr., were sitting in. After Cruz was in the car, MacDonald said Cruz "immediately" started demanding money and drugs from both men and threatened to kill them if they didn't do what he wanted.
Deputies say MacDonald told them Cruz got more aggressive with his demands. MacDonald then grabbed a gun from his jacket pocket and fired several rounds toward the backseat and Cruz.
Cruz was struck in the torso and died before deputies arrived, the sheriff's office said.
As the investigation continued, deputies said it became clear to them the shooting resulted from an illegal drug deal in the car and a robbery plot hatched between Cruz and Cruceta.
The sheriff's office said deputies learned that earlier that evening MacDonald contacted Cruceta about buying marijuana from him. They reportedly agreed to meet in the Tropicana Resort Motel's parking lot to make the deal.
On the way to meet MacDonald, deputies said Cruceta picked up his friend Cruz. He claimed Cruz told him he wanted to make some quick cash and he wanted to "hit a lick," aka rob someone. Cruceta reportedly dropped Cruz off near the hotel and met MacDonald.
When MacDonald arrived, deputies said he got out of his car and got into Cruceta's car in the front passenger seat. Shortly after that, Cruz got in the back passenger seat and tried to rob MacDonald using a fake gun, reportedly hitting him in the back several times. After that, MacDonald shot and killed Cruz.
Deputies said they found motel surveillance video showing Cruceta rummaging in the back seat of his car, grabbing evidence and throwing it over a high fence. The sheriff's office said they found Cruz's ID, keys and cellphone on the other side of the fence.
Detectives said based on evidence and interviews, Cruceta was arrested and charged with the following:
2nd-degree felony murder, conspiracy to commit robbery, possession of cannabis with intent to sell, possession of heroin, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, maintaining a vehicle for drug use/sales, tampering with physical evidence, providing false information to LEO during an investigation, unlawful use of a two-way communication device.
"This is another example of how dangerous illegal drug transactions can be," Sheriff Grady Judd said in a statement. "The drug dealer conspired with his friend to commit a robbery that resulted in his friend's death. Now the drug dealer is going to prison. How did that work out for him?"
