COCOA, Fla. — Cocoa police say they have made an arrest in connection to a deadly shooting last week.
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Officers said the case involved a 43-year-old man who was shot at Crestview Road and Monopoly Lane on Friday.
Police said the victim, who goes by Factor Tejax, was rushed to a hospital by helicopter, but later died.
On Monday, investigators announced the arrest of 19-year-old Kenydrick Anderson.
Police said Anderson tried to rob Factor before shooting him.
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Officers added that Anderson confessed to the killing during questioning.
Anderson faces charges of first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a person under age 21.
He is being held at Brevard County Jail without bond.
The victim’s family says they’re now facing a significant hurdle as they try to lay the Guatemala native Tejax to rest.
He spent the last five years in Brevard County, working in landscaping and roofing.
Now, his sisters and the rest of their friends and family say they’re trying to return his body to Guatemala.
They’re already seeing some support in the form of a makeshift memorial placed near the entrance to Factor’s neighborhood.
“He’s a very generous person, very caring,” Factor’s sister Silvia said of her brother with the help of family friend Nicole Rich. “The type of person that will give you his shirt off his back if you need it. He’s always helping out the homeless with food or anything. He was that guy.”
Tejax had just left a fish fry and stopped at a local convenience store for beer. Police say he was walking up Crestview Road when he was shot.
Witnesses who saw Factor collapse just a short distance from his home stopped to help, but despite their best efforts, he died at the hospital.
Cocoa police say they arrested Anderson within 24 hours of the shooting. Investigators say they believe Anderson followed Tejax intending to rob him, but shot him when he fought back.
“It’s just said, you know,” family friend Nicole Rich said. “The guy that was arrested, he was so young. His life is over. It’s really sad both ways.”
Anderson is currently being held in the Brevard County jail on no bond.
Factor’s family has set up a GoFundMe page to help get him to Guatemala.
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