Diplomat’s son facing murder charge in Florida
Boy, 15, to be tried as adult over drug-related shootout in which his brother was killed
MIAMI— The teenage son of a Canadian diplomat has been charged with murder as an adult in what police say was a drug-related shooting that killed his older brother.
A Miami-Dade County grand jury indicted 15-year-old Marc Wabafiyebazu on first-degree felony murder charges Wednesday. He is the son of Roxanne Dubé, Canada’s consulgeneral in Miami.
The teen, who is being held in juvenile detention, will now be moved to an adult jail to await trial. His lawyer has said he will plead not guilty.
The youth’s brother, 17-year-old Jean Wabafiyebazu, was killed in the March shootout over an alleged marijuana deal. Another teenager, 17year-old Joshua Wright, was also slain.
The grand jury also indicted two other young men involved in the drug deal on felony murder charges.
Under Florida law, all suspects involved in committing a crime can be charged with murder if it leads to a killing. Investigators allege the brothers had gone to a home with the intention of stealing marijuana from a dealer. While the younger sibling waited with the car outside, the older teen went inside.
Several shots were fired inside the home, police allege, and the younger brother rushed into the house but exactly what he did after that is not clear.
According to police reports, the brothers — who had only recently relocated from their father’s home in Ottawa to south Florida to be with their mother — took her personal vehicle with its diplomatic plates to the alleged drug meeting.