ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County deputies arrested a man Monday who’s accused of shooting another man to death back in February.
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29-year-old Ricky Vigeroni Harley, Jr. was booked into the Orange County jail Monday on a charge of second-degree murder.
The investigation started back on February 24 when deputies responded to Quality Used Appliances at 6420 N. Orange Blossom Trail shortly after 7:30 p.m. for reports of a shooting.
Deputies arrived to find the victim, later identified as 27-year-old Onel Lynch, in the median of Orange Blossom Trail suffering from a shotgun wound to the chest.
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Lynch was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center where he underwent several hours of surgery before dying from his injuries, according to police.
A second man was treated at the scene for a minor graze wound.
Investigators say they later learned Harley and the second man who was shot both operated and lived in the store, and were alleged to be selling marijuana out of the business.
When interviewed by detectives, the surviving victim initially claimed that he was the shooter and that Lynch had attempted to rob the business, but later admitted that he lied to cover for Harley, who was a convicted felon.
The surviving victim eventually changed his story to say Harley and Lynch met at the businesses to “conduct a gun transaction,” but there was an argument that led to a fight.
According to the sheriff’s office, the surviving victim claimed Lynch was wearing a mask and reached for his waistband, implying he had a weapon. That’s when he said Harley fired the shotgun once, fatally wounding Lynch and grazing the second victim.
Deputies say everyone ran from the scene after the shooting.
When interviewed by detectives about what happened, deputies say Harley initially denied being involved at all and denied ever shooting a gun that day. In a later interview, he tried to claim another man was the shooter.
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Orange County Violent Crimes Detectives later noted that both Harley and the surviving victim gave interviews described as “deceitful” and “all over the place.”
Body-worn camera video from a deputy who rode in the ambulance with Lynch captured him identifying a person named Ricky as “the person who shot me.”
When asked a second time if he knew who shot him, deputies say Lynch replied, “Rick.”
Deputies also noted Lynch was not armed and wasn’t wearing or carrying a mask when he was transported.
Deputies later interviewed the man Harley tried to implicate in the murder who admitted to being at the store, but said he left before the shooting because he felt “tension in the air, like something was going to happen.”
When asked to describe why he felt the situation was tense, the witness said there was no music playing, no one was talking, and Harley was at the back of the business “looking mad.”
According to the sheriff’s office, the witness went on to say the surviving victim had previously told him that if anyone were to “end up dead” at the store they would simply say it was a robbery and “we will be straight.”
Investigators ultimately determined Lynch bought marijuana from Harley and the second victim before Harley shot Lynch.
Lynch’s “dying declaration” paired with Harley’s changing statements led investigators to believe Harley was the person responsible for Lynch’s murder.
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Deputies secured an arrest warrant Monday charging Harley with second-degree murder.
Harley was released from Hernando Correctional Institution where he was serving a sentence for charges out of Polk County and transferred to the Orange County jail under the murder warrant. He remains there with no bond set.
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