FLORIDA CITY, Fla. – Authorities have made an arrest in the case of a 9-year-old who was shot and killed last year.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 19-year-old Montreal Savonte Jackson Jr. on Tuesday.
He’s facing a second degree murder charge in the shooting death of Antavious Scott.
It was on Nov. 16 that Antavious was among a group of people who were shot at in Florida City at the Southpoint Crossing apartment complex along West Lucy Street near Northwest Eighth Avenue.
According to an arrest report, Antavious had been shot in the back and was found by deputies lying on the ground, unresponsive.
He was airlifted to HCA Kendall Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Deputies said Antavious and the group he was with had been shot at by two suspects, including Jackson.
According to the report, prior to the shooting, surveillance video showed a white Volkswagen sedan parking in the area before Jackson and another person get out and case the area while armed with a gun.
Authorities said the two then moved the car just northwest of the shooting scene before they walk onto an open field just before the shooting and then run back to their car.
According to the report, the car was discovered to be registered to one of Jackson’s parents. Deputies said cellphone data revealed that he was in the vicinity of the scene at the moment of the shooting.
Authorities confirmed that Jackson was taken into custody Tuesday at his home.
He invoked his right to not speak with detectives, the report stated.
Jackson appeared in bond court Wednesday,
“This is the definition of a circumstantial case and a weak one at that,” his attorney told the judge.
Jackson’s attorney claimed the young man wasn’t the shooter.
“There’s no video footage of the shooting. There’s no eyewitnesses whatsoever. There’s no gun found. There’s nothing tying Mr. Jackson to the shooting whatsoever,” the attorney said.
According to the attorney, Jackson lives in the area.
“They have video of two unknown individuals. Obviously they can’t identify Mr. Jackson from the video itself,” the attorney said.
The judge, however, ordered that Jackson be held without bond.