Orange City man charged in fatal shooting of Deltona High School student at house party

A 43-year-old man has been charged in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old Deltona High School student following a dispute at a party in Deltona in October, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

The man fired at a car Xyrus Zelaya and other juveniles were riding in after a passenger threw a bottle of rum at a parked car, according to a charging affidavit. Another Deltona High School student, a 17-year-old, was shot in the back in the upper left shoulder area and survived, a report said.

Markland Roberts of Orange City was charged with manslaughter with a firearm in Zelaya's killing and attempted manslaughter with a firearm in the shooting of the 17-year-old, according to the sheriff's office.

Manslaughter with a firearm is punishable by up to 30 years in prison; attempted manslaughter with a firearm is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. If convicted as charged, Roberts could face a 45-year sentence.

Roberts was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail at 7:18 p.m. Wednesday and released a short time later at 9:30 p.m. on $35,000 bail. His arraignment is set for Dec. 29 before Circuit Judge James Clayton in DeLand.

Zelaya’s girlfriend, Iman Hamdan, said in an interview Thursday that she, along with Zelaya's family and friends, wanted more serious charges against Roberts, such as first- or second-degree murder, which are punishable by life and up to life in prison, respectively.

A change.org petition demanding justice for Zelaya had 2,255 signatures by Thursday afternoon with a goal of 2,500 signatures.

The petition reads in part: “Sadly, after more than a month, an arrest was finally made but the suspect was released within 2 HOURS. While he was only charged with manslaughter, what happened to Xyrus was murder!”

Spencer Hathaway, a spokesman for 7th Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza, said Larizza plans to meet with Zelaya's family soon. Hathaway declined to comment further on the charges.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood pointed out in an interview Thursday that the manslaughter with a firearm charge carries a 30-year penalty.

“After great debate with the State Attorney’s Office, I think everybody agreed that was the appropriate charge to move forward,” he said.

Chitwood said that anyone with questions about the charges should refer them to the State Attorney’s Office, which makes the charging decision.

But Chitwood said that Roberts was going to assert a "stand your ground" defense.

“Because there was a threat put out there about lighting up the house after they were evicted from the party and then the car makes a U-turn and comes by," Chitwood said. "The bottle is thrown out. There’s a pop, there’s a shot and unfortunately we have a good kid in a bad position that’s dead."

Florida's stand your ground law states in part that a person does not have a duty to retreat and has a right to meet force with force.

Hamdan said that the 30-year term for the manslaughter charge offered some relief, although she wanted to wait and see if Roberts would actually receive that sentence if convicted.

“It’s a little more relieving,” she said.

In a tweet, Chitwood thanked detectives and the State Attorney's Office for their work on the case.

"I hope this starts to bring a sense of closure and justice to the victims' families and friends," Chitwood wrote.

Hathaway at the State Attorney's Office emailed a statement on Thursday: "Detectives with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and prosecutors worked diligently together to gather evidence, interview witnesses, and secure an arrest warrant on the 43-year-old Roberts."

The sheriff's office sent out an email on Thursday stating an intensive investigation into the case included more than 50 interviews and re-interviews of witnesses and guests of the Oct. 30 party at 1444 Waterview Drive in Deltona.

Zelaya and his group were not invited to the party, according to an affidavit. The injured 17-year-old told investigators that a woman had invited one member of their group, but she had not arrived yet, a report said. When she did arrive, the teens were still told they could not attend the party, a report said.

A woman asked them to leave, and an argument ensued, the affidavit said. They were asked again to leave.

The five juveniles then got back into the Toyota Corolla they were riding, the report said. Zelaya was sitting in the middle of the back seat.

Some witnesses told sheriff’s investigators that a person leaning out of the Toyota, who was not identified by the sheriff’s office, yelled “you guys are lucky I don’t boom this [expletive] right now.” Other witnesses said they did not hear anyone in Zelaya’s group threaten anyone at the party, reports show.

Several witnesses told investigators that the car made a U-turn and slowed as it passed by the house. One of the passengers leaned out of a back window and yelled. A witness said it appeared like the person was getting ready to shoot, but then threw a bottle of rum into the rear windshield of a parked car.

That was followed by a single gunshot, the report states.

A witness said he saw an older man standing in the driveway, the same man who had stared down one of the group during the earlier argument, the affidavit said. After the bottle hit the car, that witness saw a flash and heard a gunshot from where the older man had been standing, the report said.

As the car drove off, others in the car saw Zelaya was gasping for air. His friends lifted up his shirt and saw that he had been shot in the upper body, investigators said.

A witness who was invited to Roberts' house for dinner the next day stated that Roberts' girlfriend gave an account of what he said happened, an affidavit said. The girlfriend told the witness that Roberts said he saw the car spin around and head back toward the house, the affidavit said. The girlfriend said that Roberts believed they intended on doing harm because of the argument and that the group had left angry, the affidavit said.

The witness stated that neither Roberts nor his girlfriend mentioned any verbal threats that would have accompanied any physical actions that supposedly put Roberts in fear, resulting in his shooting a car with five juveniles, the report stated.

“Witness 12 [Markland's girlfriend told another witness] that when Markland [Roberts] told her that a kid threw a bottle from the car, he [Roberts] let one shot off out of fear,” investigators wrote in their charging affidavit.

Roberts turned himself in on Wednesday accompanied by his attorney and declined to talk to investigators, the report showed.

Previous coverage: Deltona teen killed in shooting remembered as 'a bright soul'

After the shooting, the group drove Zelaya to Halifax Health | UF Health – Medical Center of Deltona, where he died, according to the report.

The wounded 17-year-old's friends took him to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford where the teen was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

People described Zelaya as "a bright soul" or "a gentle giant" or "a kind-hearted person." He played tight end and defensive end on the Deltona High School football team, and goalie for the soccer team. He was hoping his athleticism might win him some scholarships, so he could go to college and study business.

Zelaya describes himself on his Twitter account as a student athlete at Deltona High School with a 3.0 GPA. A pair of Deltona Wolves football helmets were displayed in the banner.

Zelaya's last tweet on the account was on Sept. 18. He tweeted an emoji of a football and a heart and wrote "I gotta be patient. My time will come."

News-Journal reporter Patricio G. Balona contributed to this report.

Editor's note: A tweet from the sheriff's office incorrectly indicated that Roberts was a resident of Deltona.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Florida man charged in fatal shooting of Deltona High School student