Local

No bond for suspect in Seminole County fatal I-4 shooting

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A fatal shooting inside a car on Interstate 4 in Seminole County brought traffic to a standstill Saturday morning.

People heading east on I-4 were diverted off the Longwood exit and onto State Road 434, after the shooting, which was followed by a crash, closed all lanes for over an hour.

Altamonte Springs police were called to the area around 5 a.m. Saturday in reference to a crash, which sent a car off the road.

According to police, a Rodney Porter, 23, was found dead from a gunshot wound inside the car.

Police said the driver slammed on the brakes and bailed out of the car when passenger Junior Gedeon, 25, of Sanford, opened fire and shot Porter.

The driver ran to a 7-Eleven on Douglas Avenue for help while police were en route.

Surveillance video from the store showed him covered in blood, pacing back and forth, while talking to officers.

Meanwhile, two women bailed from the car and Gedeon hopped in the driver’s seat and drove, police said.

One of the women, who only identified herself as Gedeon’s girlfriend, talked to WFTV over the phone.

The woman said she and her daughter, who was also in the car, were frightened for their lives.

“My daughter’s like, ‘Oh my God you know save yourself,’” she said. “It could have been us who was killed.”

Gedeon continued to drive toward Sanford before wrecking the car.

The suspect tried to run when police arrived, but they were able to take Gedeon into custody and arrested him several hours later.

The other people in the car were also taken into custody and are cooperating with police.

Police said the five people in the car, who are from Sanford and Orlando, were driving back home from a club when the suspect and the victim started arguing.

A semi-automatic handgun believed to be the murder weapon was recovered from the vehicle.

Gedeon is facing a homicide charges, as well as charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

WFTV found out the Sanford man has been under house arrest for intent to sell MDMA, a form of ecstasy.

Records show he’s been arrested six times since 2010 for violent crimes and drug offenses.

Gedeon is being held in jail without bond and is expected to go before a judge Sunday morning.

Eastbound I-4 was closed until about 9:30 a.m. while authorities investigated the shooting.

The incident had traffic backed up for miles as thousands of people headed toward the beach for the busy holiday weekend.