Lionel Jean Charles Jr., the final suspect in the Memorial Day shooting on the Hollywood Broadwalk, was arrested Monday, after a week-long search by local and federal law enforcement officers.
Hollywood Police identified Charles Jr.,18, and two others as those who fired guns May 29 in the midst of crowds of people spending the holiday evening at the popular destination of shops, restaurants and bars.
Detectives took Charles Jr. into custody at 1:30 p.m., the police department said in a news release Monday evening. U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force officers arrested Jordan Burton, 15, on Saturday afternoon, and Hollywood Police’s Violent Crimes Unit arrested Ariel Cardahn Paul, 16, on Sunday evening.
All three were arrested on one count of first-degree attempted murder, eight counts of second-degree attempted murder and one count of carrying a concealed firearm.
Keshawn Paul Stewart, 18, of Dania Beach, and Morgan Deslouches, 18, of Hollywood, were arrested last week on weapons-related charges. Neither were identified as shooters, police said.
Nine people, including a 1-year-old, were caught in the crossfire and injured after two groups of people started fighting and pulled guns. Police still have not released details about what started the altercation.
Shortly after the shooting, a woman pointed out a group of six men walking near Connecticut Street to an officer and said they where at the crime scene, a probable cause affidavit said. Deslouches was arrested near Connecticut Street, found with a loaded gun with its serial number scratched off in a black bag.
Stewart was arrested while walking in the area of 1200 North Ocean Drive early the next morning. During questioning at the police department, he admitted to having a gun in his backpack without a license, the affidavit said.
As of Saturday, seven of the victims had been released from the hospital and two were in stable condition.
Kyan Reddix, 15, was still recovering Monday at Memorial Regional Hospital, said his mother Latroyta Stone, 34, of Fort Lauderdale. Stone said Hollywood Police told her Monday the last suspect has been arrested, giving her a sense of safety she hasn’t had because the gunmen were evading police.
Her son was at the beach with friends when the shots erupted. He called her only 15 minutes earlier to ask if she would send money for a slice of pizza. Then her phone rang, a call from a relative with the news that Kyan had been shot.
He was shot twice in the left of his chest and once in the stomach. If not for a rare condition he was born with, Kyan may not have survived, Stone said. His heart is on his right side.
Kyan also had the help of Sean Bennett, one of the good Samaritans who heard the gunshots and rushed to help save lives. Her son met Bennett on Monday, she said.
Bennett told her son how he saw his body relax when he told Kyan to stay focused and talk to him as Bennett applied pressure to his chest wound and soaked up his blood with towels before a Hollywood officer came to help.
Kyan had surgery on his intestines and has started to move with a walker, Stone said. They hope he will go home Tuesday.
“I feel like Hollywood Police did a very good job because we all know sometimes it takes forever to catch someone involved in a shooting or sometimes never,” Stone said. “I’m just happy they caught all three of them. Now I can go home and rest.”
Angie DiMichele can be reached at adimichele@sunsentinel.com, 754-971-0194 and on Twitter @angdimi.