Teenager linked to FAU student’s killing is in jail

Suspect set up the drug deal that ended in shooting, police say

A teen accused of murder is back in Palm Beach County after briefly being detained in Miami, and new police documents say the former Florida Atlantic University soccer player set up the drug deal that ended in the death of another student.

Donovan Malik Henry, 19, was arrested on Dec. 30 in connection with the death of Nicholas Acosta, a Florida Atlantic University sophomore shot dead in an off-campus apartment. On Saturday, he appeared in front of a Palm Beach County judge and was booked into the county jail.

According to an arrest report, Acosta was texting Henry to purchase marijuana from him on Dec. 29. Acosta, also 19, was at his girlfriend’s apartment at University Park Apartments, 135 NW 20th St., in Boca Raton.

Acosta told Henry the apartment he was in and the access code to the gate, according to the report.

Acosta’s girlfriend said two men, one of whom was later identified as Henry, knocked on the front door and she let them in. She told police she recognized Henry from a party earlier that year, but did not know his name.

After the two men entered her apartment, three other men forced their way into the apartment. One of them was wearing a green mask and had a gun, police said.

They ordered Acosta and his girlfriend to the floor, and when Acosta asked them what was happening , the masked man shot Acosta twice, the girlfriend told police.

Acosta’s girlfriend told police there was a large amount

of marijuana on the kitchen counter prior to the shooting, but it was gone following the ordeal.

Police were able to trace the phone number used to set up the drug deal to Henry’s father, and Acosta’s girlfriend was able to identify Henry in a photo lineup.

Henry was arrested the next day in Miramar, where he lives. He was a freshman at Florida Atlantic University studying civil engineering and a walk-on member of the men’s soccer team.

University officials released a statement last week stating the school has issued a restraining order against Henry, banning him from all campus and school events.

He is charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. Henry is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail without bail.

The Boca Raton Police Department is still seeking information about the other four individuals involved in the murder, and are asking anyone with information to call Detective Scott Hanley at 561-338-1344.