MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Marion County deputies say they’ve arrested the person responsible or shooting and killing 17-year-old Sofia Lugo earlier this month.
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Deputies responded to a home in the 1000 block of NW 111th Court in Ocala just before 1 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 10 for reports of a suspicious death. They arrived to find Lugo on the floor of a bedroom, dead from a single gunshot wound.
After conducting several interviews, Marion County homicide detectives identified Lugo’s boyfriend, 21-year-old Saul Garcia-Macias, as a person of interest in the case and asked the public to help locate him.
According to the sheriff’s office, detectives spoke to witnesses who said Garcia-Macias had made comments that he’d “done something” to Lugo before leaving the scene.
After 17 days of hiding, deputies say Garcia-Macias called the sheriff’s office and agreed to meet with detectives for questioning.
Based on the evidence and statements collected, deputies found cause to charge Garcia-Macias with second-degree murder. He’s being held in the Marion County jail with no bond set, pending an initial court appearance.
READ: Family, friends to hold vigil Wednesday for slain 17-year-old Marion County girl
According to the sheriff’s office, detectives are requesting that he be held without bond due to his status as an illegal immigrant and his history of leaving the country after encounters with law enforcement.
According to his arrest report, Garcia-Macias has a long history of contact with police dating back to when he was suspected in a string of vehicles burglaries in 2002 when he was just 13 years old.
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