Auburndale Police charge 15-year-old in man's fatal shooting

The Auburndale Police Department has arrested a suspect in a fatal shooting from May 5.

Officers arrested Anthony Thomas Lewis, 15, and charged him with second-degree murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and possession of a weapon by someone younger than 18.

The shooting occurred near Reiter Drive and Robert Avenue following a confrontation, APD said in a news release. Officers responded to a call and found a 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound inside a blue 2022 Chrysler Pacifica, and the man died after being taken to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, APD reported.

The agency has not identified the victim, citing an open investigation and an exemption from public records release known as Marsy’s Law.

An arrest affidavit offered this description: The victim had been communicating with another man about negotiating a drug transaction and, while driving the Pacifica, picked up another man on Ernest Drive.

As the victim neared the exit from the neighborhood on Reiter Driver, Lewis entered the road and blocked the vehicle’s path. Lewis fired one shot, which missed the victim. The passenger left the vehicle and ran away as the victim began driving in reverse.

The victim reached a stop and began driving forward again, and Lewis fired though the driver’s side window, striking the driver in the left chest, the affidavit said. The suspect walked to the back of the vehicle and fled south on foot.

The victim drove about 300 feet, crashing into a chain link fence.

A witness gave a detailed account of the shooting on May 10, the affidavit says.

Lewis has not yet had a first appearance in court.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Auburndale Police charge 15-year-old in man's fatal shooting