A crash and gunfire woke residents of a waterfront neighborhood before dawn Tuesday and the ensuing police search trapped others in their homes through the morning rush hour.
In the end, a police officer had shot one teen and detained another suspect, while a third suspect remained on the loose. Officers arrested Angel Machado, 20, of Greenacres, and Ramon Rosario, 17, of Lake Worth, a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office probable cause affidavit stated.
The incident began about 3:37 a.m. when a Boca Raton Police officer spotted a suspicious vehicle in the 400 block of Northeast Spanish Trail, in a neighborhood just east of the Intracoastal Waterway, north of East Palmetto Park Road. That “suspicious” vehicle then hit the officer’s car, Boca Raton police spokeswoman Sandra Boonenberg said.
According the affidavit, the unidentified driver backed a Jeep into the officer’s vehicle and then drove into a driveway and crashed into a row of bushes. Rosario exited the front passenger door, raised a handgun and pointed it at the officer, the affidavit said.
The officer, whose named not been released, fired her service weapon and struck Rosario multiple times. Rosario suffered three gunshot wounds, two to his abdomen and one to his left arm. He was taken to the Delray Medical Center for treatment.
Machado, a passenger in the rear of the vehicle, surrendered at the scene. The driver fled on foot.
Rosario was interviewed at the hospital and told police that he was in Lake Worth when the unidentified suspect called and said he would pick Rosario up. Rosario said he was with Machado when the man arrived, the affidavit stated.
The Jeep had been reported stolen and Rosario confessed to stealing it for the unidentified man, the affidavit said.
Officers found a loaded 9mm handgun on the ground next to the Jeep. They also found a duffle bag with a 12 gauge loaded shotgun in the back seat. The handgun was stolen during a burglary and the rifle was taken in an un-related home invasion robbery, the affidavit stated.
Rosario confessed to being in possession of both the pistol and shotgun and admitted he was a convicted felon, the affidavit stated. Machado told officers that he discussed doing a home invasion with Rosario while the other suspect drove to Boca Raton. He said that they were driving around the area when the police officer pulled behind them.
Rosario’s charges include aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and home invasion robbery with a firearm; Machado’s include home invasion robbery, according to Palm Beach County Jail records.
Investigators are still looking for the third suspect.
Anyone with information about this crime can call Crime Stoppers at 800-458-TIPS stay anonymous and be eligible for up to $1,000 REWARD!
(source: palmbeachpost.com)