A Windermere man was arrested Thursday on charges of first-degree murder in the death of a 25-year-old Deltona man, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said.
Patrick Kane de la Cerda was found shot to death on Feb. 27 in a home on Howland Boulevard.
Gregory Bender, 50, was booked Thursday morning into the Orange County Jail.
Deputies said the investigation led to Bender, who was reportedly jealous of De La Cerda and the woman he was dating -- Bender's ex-girlfriend.
Bender, a hedge fund manager, had threatened the couple, and De La Cerda’s girlfriend was granted an injunction for protection against Bender in December 2017, deputies said.
Bender was later served with the injunction by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. De La Cerda was not granted an injunction, but had set up security measures around his property, including a gate and surveillance cameras. Investigators believe he later removed them.
De La Cerda’s girlfriend told detectives she received phone calls from Bender while she was at work Tuesday morning. Deputies said she didn’t answer, and became concerned when she called De La Cerda, who didn’t answer his phone. She left work to check on De La Cerda, but he was already dead when she found him.
Detectives said De La Cerda’s father reported that he had received a strange phone call early Tuesday from an unknown number. The male caller stated he was outside the gate and had a package to deliver to De La Cerda, authorities said.
De La Cerda’s father tried to contact his son to let him know, but he never heard back. His father said he had previously heard a voicemail recording of Bender’s voice, and he believes the male caller on Tuesday was Bender, detectives said.
Detectives said they interviewed a woman who said she found a blue spiral notebook in Bender’s Windermere home, which contained a detailed plan to kill De La Cerda. The plan mentioned using a package delivery and opening the gate, officials said.
Authorities obtained a search warrant for Bender’s Windermere home, where detectives said they found the handwritten plan, several guns and ammunition that matched the ammunition found at the scene of the homicide.
Steve De Le Cerda, the victim's uncle, said his nephew had planned to move to South Florida Thursday.
"It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense," he said. "You can't expect for there to be a police officer in front of someone's house constantly, but it's just a tragic loss."
Steve De Le Cerda said his family is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his energetic nephew.
"A person that's not in the right state of mind will find a way," he said. "If they're determined to cause harm, they will cause it whether there's a restraining order or not."
Bender remains in jail without bail.
The person of interest who became the prime suspect in Tuesday’s shooting death of a 25-year-old Deltona man was charged...
Posted by Volusia Sheriff's Office on Thursday, March 1, 2018
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