Left to right: Lyrick Garcia, Valerie Lisette Gonzalez, and Nawrkin Nawlyn Rivas De Los Santos (Broward County Sheriff”s Office).
Three Florida teenagers have been arrested over a surprise attack that left a woman severely beaten, pistol-whipped and shot at, according to law enforcement in the Sunshine State.
Nawrkin Nawlyn Rivas De Los Santos, 19, and Lyrick Garcia, 19, were arrested earlier this week on charges of attempted murder in the first degree with a firearm, police announced on Thursday.
Before that, on Tuesday, police announced the arrest of Valerie Lisette Gonzalez, 19, who stands accused of one count of first-degree attempted murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and illegal discharge of a firearm.
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On June 22, all three defendants went to the victim’s residence on South West 39th Court in Davie, a large city and suburb located in the Fort Lauderdale metro area, the Town of Davie Police Department said in a press release.
There, officers responded to reports of a shooting and interviewed the victim, who said she had recently been messaged by someone she knew on Instagram who “advised he was in the area and asked if she wanted to get something to eat,” according to an arrest warrant obtained by Law&Crime.
The victim replied to say she did want to go out for food and waited until a man showed up at her residence on foot, police claim. The man then allegedly told the victim he had parked nearby and convinced her to walk down to his “light colored four door sedan,” police say.
While the victim believed the man “was going to open the car door for her” so they could go grab some food together, she instead found another man inside wearing a hoodie and ski mask, according to the warrant. The second man then jumped out and struck her “in the mouth with a fist.”
The beating continued for some time, the victim said, with the second man hitting her in the head and face with his fists – causing injuries to her lip, face, and neck, according to law enforcement.
Then, a woman came up from the back of the car, also wearing a hoodie and ski mask – but who the victim was able to identify as Gonzalez from her voice and past interactions, according to police.
Gonzalez allegedly asked the victim if she wanted to talk about “my dead boyfriend” and then struck her in the head with a gun.
Both of the codefendants said Gonzalez repeatedly hit the victim with the gun. Garcia, specifically, described the incident as a “pistol-whipping,” according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime.
As the victim fell to the ground from the beating, Gonzalez and one of the men allegedly stomped on her, according to the warrant.
“[The victim] advised Gonzalez also appeared to be filming the incident with a cellular telephone due to the flash being visibly turned on,” the document goes on. “The suspect later sent a clip of this video to the victim showing a portion of the incident.”
At some point, the victim said, she was able to regain her footing and run — ultimately fearing for, and running for, her life.
As the victim fled, Gonzalez allegedly fired a single shot at her, seemingly attempting to hit the victim, according to the warrant.
One of the codefendants, however, cast some doubt on the trajectory of the bullet. Rivas De Los Santos allegedly told police Gonzalez fired the shot “at the ground” as the victim left the scene, according to the affidavit.
Later, the victim told investigators she knew at least two of the assailants – one of whom attended middle school with her. The unidentified victim also said she knew Gonzalez from spending time with her in juvenile detention and was able to recognize her voice from a series of back-and-forth messages shared between the two during arguments on social media.
The victim then directed investigators to an Instagram account which she said belonged to the “dead boyfriend” in question. It was from that account, the victim said, Gonzalez had messaged her.
“While looking at the messaging following the incident, Gonzalez makes the statement that she intended to kill [the victim] by shooting at her with the firearm and that she may attempt to shoot her again in the future,” the warrant continues.
In some instances cited by law enforcement, Gonzalez allegedly directed her words to the victim’s mother.
“So I reacted crazy but I’m f—ed up mentally and I told her to stop it I’m telling her ima kill her and she keep going on about my dead ppl,” she wrote in one message, according to the warrant.
“If I killed her which I was gonna kill her b[u]t I woulda been wrong I just taught her a lesson,” she also reportedly wrote in another message.
All three defendants are currently being detained in the Broward Main Jail without bond, jail records show.
