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Man Arrested In Connection To Shooting Death Of FAU Student

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BOCA RATON (CBSMiami) – Boca Raton police have arrested a man in connection to the shooting death of the teen at a housing complex near Florida Atlantic University's campus.

On Monday, five men stormed the U-Park apartments at 135th NW 20th Street just before 7:30 p.m. and shot 19-year-old Nicholas Acosta several times in the chest. They then fled the area, possibly in two different vehicles, according to police.

Nicholas Acosta
Nicholas Acosta (Source: Palm Beach Sheriff's Office)

When Boca Raton police officers arrived on the scene minutes later they found Acosta bleeding from two gunshot wounds in his torso.

Acosta was taken to the Delray Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

According to Boca Raton police, Acosta's girlfriend told them she familiar with at least one of the suspects.

Detectives said she told them that she was with Acosta in their apartment when there was a knock on the door. She opened the door and saw two men, one of whom she recognized from a party in the apartment complex two months earlier, and invited both of them inside. A few moments later, she said three other men forced their way into the apartment and ordered her and Acosta to the ground.

The girlfriend said that Acosta asked, "What's going on?" and that is when one of the suspects shot Acosta.

The girlfriend reportedly told police that Acosta sold marijuana out of the apartment in the past, and also that a large bag of marijuana was missing from the kitchen counter after the shooting.

Investigators said a check of Acosta's cell phone showed that he had a text conversation with one of the suspects prior to the shooting in regards to a drug transaction. The conversation included the suspect texting Acosta that he had arrived at the apartment complex and Acosta giving the suspect the access code for the building.

Boca Raton detectives were able to trace the cell phone back to 19-year-old Donovan Malik Henry of Miramar.

On Wednesday afternoon, Henry was arrested without incident in Miami Gardens and charged with first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm.

Detectives continue to search for four additional suspects.

If you have any information about this case, please call Detective Scott Hanley at (561) 338-1344 or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 458-TIPS.

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