Police escort teenager Samuel Stevens (in black shirt) after his arrest. They say he shot and killed Angela Sutton Washington while she was walking to her car at a convenience store. (Images: Orlando Police Department)
A 15-year-old boy is being charged as the person who shot and killed a Desert Storm veteran while she was on her way to her car.
“Through the relentless efforts of our Homicide Detectives along with cooperation from the community and Central Florida Crimeline a suspect has been captured,” the Orlando Police Department in Florida said on Friday. They identified the suspect as Samuel Stevens, 15.
Officers previously said that the victim, Angela Sutton Washington, 60, had gone to a convenience store on Feb. 7 to pick something up while she was on her way home. Then, someone in a dark blue or black Mazda 3 opened fire, hitting her, according to authorities.
Cops said they found Washington lying on the sidewalk. They tried to save her life, but she succumbed to her injuries, they said.
“It is our belief at this time that Angela Sutton Washington was not the intended target,” officers said in March. “Multiple individuals were in the shopping plaza at the time of this incident, and we need them to come forward.”
Cops noted a small crowd hanging out in front of the business.
“Video from the area revealed that 7-9 males were loitering in front of the store and probably were the intended targets,” they wrote.
They hung out for about an hour in front of the store, Orlando homicide detective Barb Sharp said in a March press conference.
“This was a senseless murder of a valued member of our community,” Sharp said. “Angela was a military veteran of Desert Storm. She’s a beloved daughter, mother, and grandmother.”
Her son, Fernando Washington, called on anyone with information to step forward.
“Put yourself in my position,” he said at the press conference. “Think about it as if it was your mother who was tending to her own business and was struck down. Put yourself in the child’s position. What if it was you who was minding your own business and was murdered?”
Stevens faces a count of first-degree murder with a firearm. Law&Crime Network reached out to prosecutors to learn if they will charge him as a juvenile or adult.
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