Family mourns young father cut down in shooting
‘We’ll never get over this,’ says mom of club bouncer killed May 22.
WEST PALM BEACH — By age 24, Devin Weingarth had worked all kinds of jobs, from short-order cook to roofing to serving on a crew striping Interstate 95.
Anything to provide for his longtime girlfriend, Indacia West, and their 2-year-old daughter, Harmony.
Weingarth’s latest gig was in securit y, a good fit for a beefy guy who enjoyed being around people. Since April, Weingarth had been hired as a bouncer at Shout, a karaoke club downtown on Olive Avenue just north of Clematis Street.
Weingarth was shot to death outside the club around midnight May 22 in a drive-by attack that left a second man wounded. Later that day, U.S. marshals arrested Jovany Ortiz outside the state on a first-degree murder charge. According to cit y police, Weingarth and Ortiz, 26, were acquaint- ed with each other, but no further information has been released.
Family members say they do not know Ortiz and that Weingarth hadn’t mentioned being in any altercations.
“I feel bad for that guy’s family,” Karen Weingarth, Devin’s mother, said Friday of Ortiz. “I know his mother didn’t raise him to do that and now she’s suffering. I think about our pain and I know two families are suffering right now. For what? It makes no sense.”
The tragedy is more acute because of what Weingarth left behind. Aside from Harmony, Weingarth and West were expecting their second child in December.
“It’s devastating,” said Voncier Neals, West’s sister. “One day this has to be explained to his daughter and to his baby. And it’s not fair.”
Weingarth was born in Miami but moved to West Palm Beach when he was 11. By 14, Weingarth was dreaming about becoming a father. His mother and father had di-
vorced when Devin was young.
“He always said he wanted to give his child something he didn’t have,” Karen Weingarth said.
Weingarth began working at a young age, but managed to get his GED. At age 21, he became a father.
Family members say Weingarth had his bumps in the road. Records show he was arrested six times since 2009, mostly for drug violations and traffic infractions that t wice cost him his driver’s license.
“A meathead some- times,” Karen Weingarth said of her son.
But those who know him say there was no doubting Weingarth’s devotion to his family. When West endured a difficult delivery during Harmony’s birth and spent three weeks in the hospital, Weingarth would stay all night in her room and work all day, barely sleeping.
Weingarth also doted on Harmony, finding time between his nighttime job as a bouncer and daytime shifts as a roofer to take his daughter on strolls at a local park.
“This is something that will affect us for the rest of my life, (West’s) life and my grandchildren’s lives,” Karen Weingarth
said.
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