South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Attempted murder suspect who led deputies on chase arrested; investigation leads to two more arrests
The arrests of three men this week, one wanted for attempted murder, culminated with deputies taking two guns and a combined
48 grams of drugs off the streets, the Broward Sheriff ’s Office said Friday.
What started as a father wanting to see his baby ended with a victim walking to the hospital with a gunshot wound, and the man accused of the crime was arrested Monday, nearly a month after leading deputies on a chase.
Tony Linares-Gomez,
18, of Pompano Beach, faces charges of attempted first-degree murder, shooting into a dwelling and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The Sheriff ’s Office said he shot a man at the home of a family member. He was arrested at an Airbnb in Hollywood.
Also arrested Monday were Travis Hunt, 19, of Lauderhill, on a count of burglary of an occupied dwelling, and Travon Octelus, 19, of Pompano Beach, on a charge of possession of fentanyl. Both face additional charges of resisting arrest without violence.
Shortly before 10:30 p.m. on July 11, Linares-Gomez and friends went to a home in the 700 block of Northeast 43rd Court in Deerfield Beach where he asked to see his son, but family members told him to come back the next day. The men shot at the home instead, deputies said.
One man was injured in the shooting and walked to Broward Health North. It is not immediately clear whether the friends
Linares-Gomez was with the night of the shooting are Hunt and Octelus.
Detectives attempted to stop Linares-Gomez the next day in North Lauderdale, but he led them on a pursuit into Davie. Witnesses told deputies they saw two men carrying rifles flee from the car, the Sheriff ’s Office said.
Deputies, SWAT, K9 units, the Florida Highway Patrol, Davie Police Department and Plantation Police Department officers searched but were unsuccessful in finding the men who bailed.
Investigators found that several suspects in a series of armed robberies in the Sheriff’s Office’s South Broward District, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood and Miami Beach were tied to Linares-Gomez. The Sheriff ’s Office said more arrests and charges are expected.
“Clearly, Tony Linares-Gomez has no regard for human life or the consequences of his criminal actions,” Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a statement Friday. “Fortunately, no one was seriously injured or killed when he and his criminal friends fired several rounds at an occupied home with his baby inside. The collaborative effort and resources of multiple agencies resulted in a violent criminal being taken off the street, the seizure of firearms and illegal drugs, and possibly solving a rash of armed robberies.”
Two guns, five grams of heroin, eight grams of cocaine, two fentanyl capsules, 35 grams of cannabis and over $3,000 in cash were taken in the investigation, deputies said.
Hunt and Octelus ran from deputies who came to arrest them at a home in Hollywood on Monday, court records show. Hunt fled to a back porch in a nearby fenced-in yard, a probable cause affidavit says.
Octelus had a plastic bag with two capsules that tested positive for fentanyl when he was arrested, court records say. Octelus was released without paying bond Tuesday and ordered to appear in court at a later date. Hunt was released Tuesday after paying a $3,500 bond.
Linares-Gomez is held in the Broward Main Jail without bond.
Court records show he was arrested in January on felony charges of carrying a concealed firearm, accessory after the fact, a weapons-related offense and attempted first-degree murder after a man he was riding in a car with shot at another car, intending to hit two victims.
The probable cause affidavit in that case says Linares-Gomez was present and an accessory in the attempted murder of the two victims.
Prosecutors declined the case, according to court records.
At the time, Linares-Gomez was on juvenile probation for a weapons offense, records say.
Attorney information for Linares-Gomez, Hunt and Octelus was not available Friday night.