An 18-year-old Orlando man is facing a first-degree murder charge after authorities say a botched home invasion turned into a shootout that left his 18-year-old accomplice dead and a 70-year-old homeowner injured with multiple gunshot wounds.
Deputies on Friday said Luismil Hernandez was one of two armed teenagers to kick down the door Wednesday about 5 p.m. at a house in the 7700 block of Murcott Circle, off Old Winter Garden Road in west Orange County. They were greeted by the homeowner, Juan Caraballo, who was armed with a .45-caliber handgun.
Authorities say a gunfight started between Caraballo and the second intruder, Gerald Anderson. Caraballo and Anderson were both shot more than once.
Anderson, a football player at Edgewater High School, was killed.
Deputies found Caraballo bleeding profusely near his front door. He had been shot in the arm, chest and stomach, they said.
Caraballo’s wife told investigators she arrived home from work to find her husband crawling on the ground, saying that he was injured but had “shot one of them,” according to court documents.
Caraballo was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for surgery and was last reported in stable condition, sheriff’s spokesman Jeff Williamson said.
Inside the home, deputies followed a trail of blood leading to a bedroom, where they found Anderson lying on the bed holding a .40-caliber handgun. He had been shot twice in the chest and once in the arm and was pronounced dead, authorities said. Deputies also found a shattered bedroom window through which Hernandez apparently escaped, they said.
Authorities were able to identify Hernandez by searching through Anderson’s Facebook account. Hernandez was arrested Friday on a warrant on charges of first-degree murder and armed burglary. He is being held without bail at the Orange County Jail.
Under state law, if a death results from the commission of a felony, the accused felon can be charged with murder even if the person did not pull the trigger.
Staff writer Chris Hays contributed to this report. miwilliams@orlandosentinel.com, 407-420-5022 or @michaeldamianw.
Interactive map: Every homicide in Central Florida »