An arrest was made in the April shooting of 37-year-old Arman Motiwalla, who was found dead next to his car in a Boca Raton parking lot.
According to Boca Raton police, Willie Byrd Jr., 42, of Boynton Beach was arrested Friday after an extensive investigation.
Motiwalla, a father from Plantation, was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds next to his car around 1:45 a.m. on April 8, in the parking lot of 350 Camino Gardens Boulevard. A $3,000 reward was offered for information on the shooting.
A friend told WPTV Motiwalla was "a devoted father who was incredibly proud of his son, Amir. He was passionate about his work and deeply dedicated to protecting and helping others. ...Arman lost his life while doing what he believed was right. We are heartbroken by this tragedy, but we remain confident that justice will be swift and severe."
Motiwalla had filed a whistleblower complaint against a former employer, Innovative Partners L.P., in 2025.
According to probable cause affidavit from the Boca Raton Police Department, investigators say they located Byrd's silver Chrysler 200 the day after the shooting, and he made conflicting statements about who owned the vehicle. They say he became nervous when they said they were from the Boca Raton Police Department.
After a search warrant was obtained for the vehicle, which was using stolen plates to conceal its identity, investigators found a Post-It note with the address where the shooting occurred written on it, as well as Arman Motiwalla's name and personal address, and the name of his fiancée. They also found 9mm magazines and ammunition, as well as Western Union receipts and Chase Bank account information.
Surveillance data and license-plate readers showed Byrd near the crime scene on the night of April 7, and also tracked him from his Boynton Beach residence, to the crime scene and back to his residence.
Investigators say on the night of April 7, Byrd backed into a parking space with his headlights off, a few spaces away from Motiwalla's vehicle. Motiwalla is seen running towards his vehicle just after 8 p.m., just as a "shadow-like figure" exits the passenger side of the Chrysler.
According to the affidavit, Motiwalla's Apple Watch recorded his last heartbeat at 8:25 p.m.
On April 13, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office made a traffic stop on Byrd and took two Apple iPhones for forensic analysis. Cell phone data showed Byrd had surveilled Motiwalla's workplace and that he'd coordinated with an associate, whom he transported on the day of the shooting.
Byrd is being charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and is being held at Palm Beach County Jail.
