Florida 15-year-old charged with abduction, robbery, and murder of real estate agent



A 15-year-old Florida boy has been arrested and charged as an adult for allegedly kidnapping, robbing, and fatally shooting a real estate agent last month.

What are the details?

On Feb. 1, 37-year-old real estate broker Stefano Barbosa was approaching a quadruplex to get signatures from tenants in Fort Lauderdale when he was approached by an armed suspect who forced him back into his vehicle, the Daily Mail reported.

Police say that the suspect then forced Barbosa to drive to an ATM and take out $1,000 in two separate transactions. The outlet reported that "the suspect then forced Barbosa to drive for two miles more while he sat in the passenger seat before shooting him multiple times in the chest."

Barbosa's vehicle crashed through a fence, stopping short of hitting a home. The homeowner called 911, and when police arrived they found Barbosa dead. An autopsy later ruled the death a homicide.

During the investigation into Barbosa's murder, neighbors and school officials identified 15-year-old Henry Lee Lewis III as the suspect in surveillance footage. The teen's cell phone records also linked him to the crimes.

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that records show Lewis "was already in juvenile custody on unrelated charges for burglaries, resisting arrest and battery on a police officer when detectives determined he was their murder suspect."

The outlet noted that Lewis was already well-known to police, reporting:

The teen's arrest record dates back to June 2018 when he was charged with robbery with a firearm at the age of 12. He's been arrested several times since on charges including burglaries; battery on a person 65 or older; battery on a law enforcement officer; aggravated battery on a school employee; interfering with school functions; threatening public servant or family; criminal mischief involving religious articles in a church, synagogue or mosque; gambling for money; obstruction; and driving without a valid license, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Lewis faced life in prison if convicted of the charges of second-degree murder and armed robbery. If he were tried and convicted as a juvenile, he would have been released after three years and kept under supervision until the age of 21, Broward State Attorney Harold Pryor told the Sun Sentinel.

Barbosa's obituary describes him as a "beloved son and brother." He was born in Brazil and graduated from Miami Palmetto High School before earning two degrees from Penn State.

"Not many people in this world are fortunate enough to love life and live it to the fullest extent the way Stefano did," his loved ones wrote, calling him a "modern-day renaissance man."

Barbosa is survived by his father, mother, sister, brother, "and by many other family members and friends who loved him dearly and whom he touched deeply."

15-year-old Arkansas boy fatally shot at junior high on first day of in-person class



A 15-year-old Arkansas boy was fatally shot at school on Monday, the first day his junior high resumed in-person learning after the building was closed due to COVID-19 concerns.

Officials believe the victim was specifically targeted by the suspect, another 15-year-old boy, who has been taken into custody.

What are the details?

Law enforcement was called to respond to a shooting at Watson Chapel Junior High School in Pine Bluff at around 10:00 a.m., where they found the victim near the school's office suffering critical injuries from a gunshot wound, KTHV-TV reported. The young man was rushed to a local hospital, where he passed away.

Following the attack, a lockdown was imposed and a SWAT team was reportedly deployed to sweep the building and clear it.

After the news broke, parents rushed to the school to pick up their kids — just hours into the students' first day back in classrooms after being shuttered amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Washington Examiner noted that the school had also experienced "water issues" that impacted the timing of returning to in-person learning.

Parents are lining up to pick up their students at Watson Chapel Jr. High after the school lifted its lockdown. Mul… https://t.co/RkAJKPB2av
— Shelby Rose (@Shelby Rose)1614621112.0

According to ABC News, the Watson Chapel School District said that all other students in the school were unharmed, calling the shooting an "isolated incident." Police said the motive is unclear at this time, but they do not believe the attack was random.

The Pine Bluff Police Department said that the suspect was apprehended behind a house near the school with the assistance of an Arkansas Department of Corrections K-9 unit, and is now at a juvenile justice facility awaiting charges. PBPD Chief Kevlin Sergeant said a decision is expected within the next 48 hours as to whether the alleged perpetrator will be tried as an adult.