Marion County

Marion County teens arrested in connection to shooting, killing friend arrested again

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — Two Marion County teens who are facing charges related to shooting and killing their friend earlier this month were arrested again this week on charges related to a drive-by shooting.

Ocala police said Joshua Vining, 17, and Colton Whitler, 17, were out on bond at the time of Wednesday night’s shooting, in which two other teens were also arrested.

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Police said April 3, Vining and Whitler were with a group of boys in Belleview taking turns shooting at each other while wearing a bulletproof vest.

One of the boys, Christopher Broad Jr., 16, died after he was struck when a bullet went through the vest.

READ: Police: Teen killed after boys take turns shooting at each other wearing body armor

Vining was charged with manslaughter and Whitler was charged with lying to police about what happened that day.

Fast forward three and a half weeks later, and the pair were arrested again while they were out on bond.

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Police said the second incident could have been avoided if the teens were held without bond.

The State Attorney’s office they looked into the possibility of charging Vining’s father following the April 3 homicide, but there was not enough evidence to press charges.

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Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.