Trials for 2 of 4 accused in Osceola fatal shooting spree to begin Dec. 2

KISSIMMEE – The first two of four trials in last summer’s shooting spree that killed two young men and damaged nearly two dozen homes and cars are set for Dec. 2, according to the Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office.

Konrad Schafer will be the only one of four defendants accused of killing the first victim, David Guerrero. The 17-year-old was shot as he walked to catch a bus to work at dawn on June 26 in Kissimmee, records show.

Until earlier this month, a second defendant was charged with driving 15-year-old Schafer while the teen leaned out of an SUV’s passenger window with a .45-caliber carbine to shoot Guerrero, records show.

However, a first-degree felony murder charge against the accused driver, 20-year-old David Damus, was dropped Oct. 10 by prosecutors who did not believe they had enough evidence for a conviction, records show.

The other defendants are Juan Muriel, 20, and Victoria Rios, 17.

All four are charged in the July 4 killing of Eric Roopnarine in his Poinciana home.

Damus is accused of shooting Roopnarine as he begged for his life during a home invasion. The four friends thought the 22-year-old night club promoter had $20,000 in cash, records state. After Roopnarine was shot, Schafer is accused of stabbing him at least twice in the neck.

Rios, who is accused of setting up Roopnarine by offering him sex, also faces trial Dec. 2. Muriel, who is accused of driving the getaway car, is scheduled for trial Jan. 6. No date has been set for Damus, according to the state attorney’s office.

The .45-caliber weapon used in both killings was bought by Schafer’s father, Lothar Schafer, who let the teen pick the gun days before the shootings began. The elder Schafer told police he needed the gun because his son was having problems with people in Poinciana.