Port St. Lucie police have arrested a suspect in the May 2 shooting in the 1600 block of NW St. Lucie West Boulevard that left a 19-year-old man dead.
Investigators say Norrien Casminski, 18, was taken into custody. He was previously wanted for attempted second-degree murder, robbery with a firearm, and grand theft.
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The two victims — Antoine Myers, 19, and Jermonti Johnson, 19 — had traveled from Georgia to purchase cell phones from the suspects. Niemczyk said the suspects had no intention of following through on the deal.
"These individuals are taking money to sign contracts for the phone, and in that the payments that they make monthly ultimately pay for that phone. And in this case, they have no intention of making those payments," Niemczyk said.
The chief said the suspects quickly realized the phones could be traced back to them if used to commit crimes.
"It didn't take them long to realize that if those phones were used to commit crimes, they would lead back to them," Niemczyk said.
Niemczyk said the situation escalated when the suspects produced a weapon and demanded money from the victims.
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"When they pulled out the gun and asked for the money, the victims didn't take them seriously, which probably is what led to the shooting," Niemczyk said.
Myers suffered a gunshot wound to the head and died on Monday. Johnson suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen and is expected to make a recovery.
Police Chief Leo Niemczyk said on Sunday that the incident began as a business transaction at a Walmart in Fort Pierce. Two other suspects were arrested over the weekend.
Detective work, SWAT teams, drones, and inter-agency coordination led to the rapid arrests of the first two suspects: 19-year-old Martravius Aaron Blue Jr., charged with felony murder among other charges, and 18-year-old Charlotte Key, the alleged getaway driver.
The final suspect, 18-year-old Norrien Casminski, called 911 to turn himself in Tuesday and was booked into the St. Lucie County Jail. His arrest came after a multi-jurisdictional effort that included the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.
When I asked Niemczyk why Casminski chose to turn himself in, the chief said he believed the suspect knew his capture was unavoidable.
"I surmised that he knew it was inevitable, and he determined that it was — he was ready to do it," Niemczyk said.
