6 teens nabbed in I-95 chase in car tied to killing

RIVIERA BEACH — Six teenagers face charges after leading Riviera Beach police on a chase Tuesday in a car believed to be involved in Sunday’s fatal shooting, authorities said.

The driver of the stolen gray 2017 Nissan Altima was taken to the county’s Juvenile Assessment Center on charges of grand theft auto and fleeing and eluding, said Riviera Beach police spokeswoman Rose Anne Brown. The 15-year-old boy also faces multiple traffic citations.

The five passengers — 18-year-old Tonesha Hunter and four juveniles ranging in age from 15 to 17 — face trespassing charges, Brown said. The teens were taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center and Hunter was given a notice to appear.

One juvenile was put in detention Wednesday afternoon after Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Gregory Keyser found probable cause for fleeing and eluding law enforcement.

First appearance hearings for two other teens were postponed because the state is awaiting information from police. It is unclear Wednesday whether the two remaining teens will be seen by a judge.

As of Wednesday morning, Brown said no one faces charges in Sunday’s shooting, which killed Timothy James Frederick, 19, and injured three others. Authorities are investigating whether any of the teens were involved.

Brown said one of the city’s license-plate readers spotted the stolen Altima and alerted detectives working the homicide case.

Officers caught up to the car shortly before 3:30 p.m. in the 2700 block of Avenue O, west of President Barack Obama Highway, and followed it. They tried to stop the car at Australian Avenue and West 10th Street, but the driver headed south toward Interstate 95.

Police pursued the Altima because of “suspicions of direct involvement in the recent homicide and potential for serious harm to others,” Brown said in a news release Tuesday.