A 13-year-old boy was indicted for murder and a botched robbery in Central Florida.
The Brevard County grand jury recently indicted the 13-year-old boy for first-degree felony murder and attempted robbery for the shooting of a man in Cocoa.
According to the State Attorney’s office, 30-year-old victim Kelby Miller had driven to a vacant house on Bristol Drive in Cocoa to meet an unknown person with whom he had texted over a social media app. After Miller messaged the unknown person that he had arrived, 13-year-old Emeril Rachel approached and tried to rob Miller, shooting him once in the torso with a .45 caliber handgun.
Mortally wounded, Miller called 911 and said that he had been robbed. However, Cocoa Police officers found the victim still had his cell phone, keys, wallet and contents of his wallet, including money. Miller told officers that there was only one person responsible for the attack. He was airlifted to Holmes Regional Medical Center where he died a few hours later.
Video from security cameras in the neighborhood showed Rachel walking back and forth in the area where the meeting was to occur, then running towards where the victim was parked about two minutes after Miller texted to say he had arrived.
Investigators say the victim’s text communications regarding the meeting were not with Rachel, the defendant, but with an unidentified accomplice who likely directed Rachel by phone.
Under police questioning, Rachel identified himself as the person in the security videos, as did his mother. He admitted to firing the gun but said it was an accident. He did not implicate anyone else in the murder.
Emeril T. L. Rachel was arrested after what investigators say was a botched armed robbery of 30-year-old victim Kelby Miller, of Port St. John.
The State Attorney’s office said Rachel will be charged as an adult and he will be held at the Brevard County Jail until trial.
