Arrest Made In Deadly Miami Gardens Shooting
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) - An arrest has been made in a deadly Miami Gardens shooting last December in which a mother of three children was struck and killed by a stray bullet.
Donald Young, 52, turned himself into the police on Tuesday and faced a judge in bond court on Wednesday.
The sister and brother of the victim, 43-year-old Alicia Roundtree, told CBS4's Peter D'Oench that they are grateful that an arrest has been made but they are still devastated by their loss.
"I am happy they were able to make an arrest but I have mixed feelings," Alicia's sister Sherrell said. "She meant a lot to me after I lost my mother 10 years ago and she stepped up to become the head of the family. She stepped up and became a mother to me."
What makes the situation even tougher is just how unnecessary this tragedy is.
"This crime was very senseless," Sherrell said. "It was very senseless. I mean how exactly does it happen that you kill an innocent bystander?"
The sentiment was repeated by Alicia's brother, Greg.
"It is unimaginable," he said. "We are still coping with this daily. We are glad an arrest has been made but we are not getting any victory. We are just taking this one day at a time and adjusting to life without her. I am sad and I have my own opinions about gun violence. It is senseless to take your emotions out this way."
He said he would never get over the loss of his sister who he said was a social worker and a bank teller and was dearly loved by everyone in their family.
Young reportedly told police on December 9th, he followed two cars to a library parking lot on N.W. 183rd Street after someone shot at his truck with a BB gun.
Surveillance cameras captured him driving up next to them in an attempt to block them in.
Young then got out of his truck and started shooting at the cars as they began to drive away, according to his arrest report. Young's attorney said he fired in self-defense.
"This is not a first degree murder case," Young's attorney Paul Gerson said in court Wednesday. "He did go down and testify for five hours with the police where in self-defense he had to fire back at not one but two car loads of people that were firing at him...no intent there."
Gerson said charges of manslaughter would be more appropriate.
A stray bullet struck Roundtree as she was driving by. She continued to drive until she crashed into other cars at Northwest 183rd Street and 27th Avenue.
Roundtree was rushed to the Aventura Medical Center where she was pronounced dead.
"This innocent woman...was at the wrong place at the wrong time and got hit," said Gerson.
Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer disagreed with Gerson, instead finding probable cause for the charges against Young.
"His intent was to kill somebody," she said. "The bullet struck and killed somebody. That's why I am holding him with no bond."
Roundtree's brother and sister said this crime was not a case of self-defense.
"From what I have learned, self-defense should not stand here because of the amount of time between when the truck was hit and when he fired at the cars," Greg said. "He made a conscious attempt to go after them."
"Why didn't he call police to get involved when this originally happened?" asked Sherrell. "Why did he have to get involved in this way? Why didn't he get a tag number for the cars? Why did he have to take matters into his own hands?"
Police matched the bullet found in Roundtree with that from Young's gun.
He's been charged with first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder because of the seven people in the two cars.
Judge Glazer ordered Young to have no contact whatsoever with them. She also appointed an Assistant Public Defender for him.
