Earlier this month, the Office of the State Attorney of the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida announced that Ya Ken Maleeq Sowell has been found guilty of First Degree Murder With A Firearm in the death of Jacaris Rozier after shooting him in an Orlando robbery attempt.
Sowell was accused in a plot to rob a man after observing him purchasing expensive items from the Gucci and Louis Vuitton stores at the Millenia Mall.
In February 2021, the Orlando Police Department responded to a call of a home invasion robbery on North Hyer Avenue. Sowell and an accomplice followed the man to the home, where they forced their way in armed with guns and wearing masks. They ordered everyone in the home to the floor and to surrender their valuables. Rozier was pushed to the floor by the gunmen. When he attempted to stand, he was shot.
After a diligent investigation by the Orlando Police Department, officers determined the man was targeted after shopping at the mall and tracked and followed back to the home where Jacaris Rozier was shot and killed. Detectives found the suspects after their vehicle was captured on multiple surveillance cameras. They were identified and arrested.
After a four-day trial concluding Thursday afternoon, an Orange County jury found defendant Ya Ken Maleeq Sowell guilty of First Degree Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Robbery with a Weapon. Sowell was sentenced to life in prison in the Florida Department of Corrections due to him being a prison release reoffender.
