EAST PALATKA, Fla. — The Putnam County Sheriff's Office arrested a teen Saturday who they say killed a man and tried to kill two others in June.
Ramon Gomez-Hernandez, 17, was charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder stemming from the June 30, 2023 killing of Rubli Perez-Lucas. He was also charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon.
On June 30, 2023, deputies responded to a call that a person was shot on Kane Road in East Palatka. Deputies said Perez-Lucas was taken in a vehicle to a hospital along with another victim, while a third gunshot victim stayed at the scene and later was taken to a hospital. Perez-Lucas died prior to arrival at HCA Florida Putnam Hospital, deputies said.
During the investigation, witnesses told detectives multiple people in a vehicle pulled onto Kane Road to fight an undisclosed person.
According to PCSO, Perez-Lucas and several people intervened and a fight ensued between the groups. As the fight was continuing a second car pulled into the area and the driver from that vehicle pulled a gun out and started shooting at the groups fighting, police said.
Detectives located a crashed white Dodge Journey, one of the vehicles witnesses described at the scene and were able to recover forensic evidence from the vehicle.
On Feb. 20, based on laboratory results from the forensic evidence, detectives were able to identify Gomez-Hernandez as the shooter, the sheriff's office said. Detectives arrested Gomez-Hernandez on Saturday.
“This was a difficult investigation due to the lack of cooperation from those associated with Ramon Gomez-Hernandez,” Sheriff Gator DeLoach said. “At every step there was intentional efforts to thwart this investigation, but justice prevailed due to the plethora of forensic evidence obtained all linking this wannabe gangster to the murder of Rubli Perez-Lucas and the attempted murder of two others.”
The investigation is ongoing, the sheriff's office said.