LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. — A 22-year-old Lake Worth Beach man is facing several charges, including first-degree murder, in a shooting nine days ago outside a home in Lake Worth Beach, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.
Jason Nozistene was denied bail during a court appearance Sunday morning in West Palm Beach. His next court date is 10:30 a.m. June 12. He was taken to the county jail at 8:11 p.m. Saturday.
Besides first-degree murder with a firearm, he also is facing attempted first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a firearm while masked and delinquent in possession of a firearm charges.
At 11:24 p.m. May 5, deputies were called to a shooting in the 800 block of South H Street. Deputies located a man outside the residence deceased from gunshot wounds to the head and chest area. The Palm Beach County medical examiner later determined he died from a single gunshot wound to the head area.
A memorial sits where he was shot.
Family members confirmed to WPTV's Victor Jorges that the 54-year-old man's name was Leonardo Hernandez Mendez.
Lake Worth Beach Mayor Betty Resch said this is devastating for her city.
"This was a tragedy," she said. "This is the kind of thing we can't tolerate in our community."
She also wants to remind the community of how crucial it can be to follow the rule: see something, say something.
"The importance of being neighbors with an eye on each other, care for each other, and be concerned about each other, and make the call, it's extremely important," she said. "The city, the sheriff's office, we can't be everywhere, we don't know what's going on."
Detectives recovered a single .22 caliber expended cartridge on the sidewalk in front of the residence.
A witness said while inside a residence, a single gunshot wound was followed by a loud disturbance from outside. The witness then heard two or three additional gunshots.
A second witness noticed a man wearing a black ski mask, armed with a gun, approached and confronted them, demanding "give me your money." The witness refused to comply with the suspect, which resulted in him engaging and fighting with the suspect.
The suspect fired a single shot, which ultimately struck the victim.
The witness then ran to the Travel Inn motel, 801 S. Dixie Highway.
The second witness had another encounter with the suspect in the area of Eighth Avenue South and South H Street.
A third witness said the suspect shot another victim.
Surveillance tracked the suspect to a room at the motel where Nozistene was registered. Detectives recovered the semi-automatic pistol and his identification card outside the room.