A 20-year-old man and 17-year-old boy have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a fatal shooting that claimed the life of an Ocala teen in June.
At around 6 p.m. on June 19, Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the 4400 block of NW 22nd Avenue in Ocala after receiving reports that multiple gunshots had been fired in the area. Upon arrival, deputies learned that 19-year-old Tylique Le’John Christie had been shot.
Christie was transported to a local hospital in critical condition prior to the arrival of law enforcement. The following morning, at around 9:30 a.m., he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the hospital.
According to MCSO, detectives launched an investigation into the fatal shooting and learned that Christie had driven to the location to sell marijuana. When the Christie arrived, 17-year-old Davinci Dawson allegedly approached the vehicle that the he was in, took the marijuana, and ran away.
MCSO stated that a second individual, 20-year-old Luis Figueroa-Tirado, approached the Christie’s vehicle as Dawson ran away. Figueroa-Tirado then allegedly shot Christie at close range. Additional shots were fired towards the vehicle by a few other individuals who were standing nearby, according to authorities.
“These other individuals have not yet been identified,” stated the sheriff’s office in a media release.
There were two other passengers inside the vehicle with Christie at the time of the shooting. Both were unharmed. The passengers were able to drive Christie to the hospital.
The sheriff’s office stated that forensic evidence and a multitude of tips from the public helped detectives identify Figueroa-Tirado and Dawson as suspects in the fatal shooting.
On Monday, September 18, a grand jury returned indictments charging both Figueroa-Tirado and Dawson with murder in the first degree. They were arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where they are currently being held without bond.
Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods released the following statement:
“This is another tragic instance of young people killing one another. A 19-year-old’s life was senselessly cut short and the two people who we’ve so far identified as doing it were 17 years old and 20 years old. As your Sheriff, I will not stand idly by while this continues to happen, but it won’t stop until we as a community create a culture where we don’t allow this to happen. Our young people need to know that violence is never the answer and that it just leads to more violence and suffering.
“With that said, I am proud of the hard work that my detectives put into this case and I am thankful for all of the tips sent in by our citizens to help close this case and put these murderers behind bars.”