Local

Judge denies bail for suspect in Edgewood fatal shooting

EDGEWOOD, Fla. — An Orange County judge on Wednesday morning ordered that a 20-year-old man charged in connection with the shooting death of a 22-year-old man remain jailed without bail.

Police said Allex Cuentas was charged with first-degree murder after Avery Wheeler was fatally shot at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday in a home on Martinez Drive in Edgewood.

Investigators said Wheeler was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he died.

Court records said Wheeler and Quentas were smoking marijuana in the garage when a gunman barged through a side door.

Cuentas told investigators that he drove the gunman to the home so he could rob Avery of his drugs and money, an arrest report said.

Cuentas was seen walking around at the shooting scene and hugging people Tuesday.

Cuentas first led detectives to believe that he was also a victim, saying that he and Wheeler were sitting in the garage when a gunman stormed in and ordered them to the ground, investigators said.

Police said once they found extra ammunition in Cuentas' car, he told detectives that he drove the gunman to the home.

Investigators said when Avery got into a tussle with the intruder, a shot was fired and the gunman fled, leaving behind a trail of money.

The gunman has not been arrested, investigators said.

Relative Carol Hernandez told Channel 9 that Wheeler lived in the home with his mother.

"He was just a really nice kid," Hernandez said "(A) really nice guy."

The Orange County Sheriff's Office is assisting Edgewood police in their investigation. It is the town's first homicide in more than 15 years.

The shooting remains under investigation.