Third person arrested in homicide outside Florida Mall, deputies say

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County deputies have just arrested a third person linked to a shooting that killed Andrew Garland, 20, and Samuel Destin, 19, in the parking lot of the Florida Mall in February.

Investigators told Channel 9's Deneige Broom that they believe the suspects arrested were trying to rob the victims after they all met up for a drug deal.

Joshua Wright, 19, was just recently arrested and charged with two counts of first degree murder. Novell Johnson and Ellis Conyers are already in custody.

Johnson told Orange County detectives that he texted the victims claiming to be a woman and arranged to buy $130 worth of marijuana.

According to the arrest warrant, mall surveillance video showed Johnson and Wright get into the back seat of the victims' car to make the deal.

Johnson allegedly told deputies that he and the other two men walked around the mall before the meetup but left "because they did not have any money." That lead detectives to write in their report that the three never planned buy the marijuana and instead planned to rob them.

Detectives said Johnson “could not explain what led up to the shooting but he stated Wright fired the first shot and then he fired and immediately after ran out of the vehicle,” according to the arrest report.

Conyers was waiting in a nearby car as the getaway driver, deputies said.

One of the suspect’s girlfriend’s told deputies that the men did the same thing a year ago, but that the robbery didn’t turn into a shooting.

Cox Media Group