ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The state attorney's office has allowed a plea deal in connection with the killing of a teenager who was shot and left on the side of the road.
The man accused of being part of the cover-up was sentenced to less than a year in prison.
Ramsys Cruz-Abreu was originally charged with manslaughter, but the state couldn't move forward with the charge because the other defendant in the case, Luana Diaz, who was 16 at the time of the killing, lied under oath.
Tha manslaughter charge was based solely on Diaz's testimony, attorneys said.
Friends and family of the young victim, Melanie Medina, attended Wednesday’s plea deal, wearing shirts with a picture of Medina’s face and the word “justice.”
Cruz-Abreu was sentenced to six months after pleading guilty to tampering with evidence.
Diaz told investigators she accidentally shot Medina in April 2017 with a gun provided by Cruz-Abreu.
Cruz-Abreu was driving a car when Diaz accidentally shot her friend in the head when she grabbed for a gun that slipped from her lap.
The then 16-year-old told police she and Cruz-Abreu dumped the body along Ziegler Road not far from South Orange Blossom Trail.
"You don't deserve to be out. You don't deserve to breath air because you treated her like that when she gave you trust,” said Medina’s friend, Heydie Rivera, in an impact statement to the judge.
A report by the Orange County Sheriff's Office said that Diaz, "Intentionally provided false information multiple times to mislead the investigation and minimize her knowledge and evolvement in the death of Melanie Medina."
Diaz will be tried as an adult on perjury and tampering with evidence charges when her trial starts later this year. She faces more than a decade behind bars if convicted.
Cox Media Group
