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Teen accused in deadly shooting of bicyclist in Pine Hills charged as adult

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Published  November 27, 2025 5:38pm EST
Orange County News
FOX 35 Orlando

The Brief

    • Orange County deputies say Tommy Lagree Jr. 15, turned himself in after shooting and killing Jahriel Benjamin Huertas, 17, who was found with a gunshot wound on a neighborhood roadway.
    • Witness statements, surveillance video and forensic evidence linked Lagree and others to the crime and to efforts to hide the weapon and clothing afterward, detectives said.
    • Prosecutors charged Lagree with second-degree murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor, alleging he carried and fired a gun during the incident, according to a filing from State Attorney Monique H. Worrell.

ORLANDO, Fla. - A 15-year-old boy has been charged as an adult after Orange County deputies say he shot and killed a bicyclist in a neighborhood near Pine Hills in late September. 

Tommy Lagree Jr. is currently being held in the Orange County Jail on charges of second-degree murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor. 

The backstory:

Deputies responded to Keith Place around 6 p.m. on Sept. 26 and found Jahriel Benjamin Huertas, 17, lying in the roadway on top of a bicycle with a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Witnesses reported seeing several men running from the scene, including one wearing a white tank top and black shorts. A sheriff’s office helicopter spotted someone matching that description at a home on Kathy Jo Terrace, where deputies detained several people and later recovered a Taurus 9mm handgun from a backpack found inside the residence.

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Shortly afterward, deputies say Tommy Lagree Jr. arrived at the scene with an attorney and turned himself in, admitting he had shot someone. Detectives interviewed multiple witnesses, including two men who were in a van with Lagree before the shooting. Both witnesses told investigators that Lagree shot Huertas after showing them a handgun minutes earlier.

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Video recovered from a DVR at Lagree’s home on Ashland Boulevard allegedly shows Lagree and another man running to the residence shortly after the shooting, changing clothes and cutting Lagree’s distinctive hairstyle. Forensic firearms analysis linked the recovered 9mm handgun to shell casings found at the crime scene.

On Oct. 7, deputies detained another man who investigators say admitted helping Lagree flee, discard clothing and hide the firearm before delivering it to a third person. 

On Nov. 24, prosecutors charged Lagree with second-degree murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor, alleging he carried and fired a gun during the incident, according to a filing from State Attorney Monique H. Worrell.

The Source: This story was written based on information from documents filed in the Ninth Circuit Court and the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

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