A gun sale gone wrong ended with a 13-year-old fatally shooting a 19-year-old, who was later found dead in his truck, Florida authorities said.
A year later, the boy, now 14, has been charged with second-degree murder, according to the Marion County Sheriff's Office. He was in juvenile detention at the time the charge was added, and he remains there, deputies said Dec. 4.
McClatchy News is not identifying the suspect because he hasn't been charged as an adult at this time.
Almost exactly a year earlier, the 13-year-old, who was a runaway at the time, told 19-year-old Griffin Chase Smith to meet him at a Dollar General in Ocala to sell him a Glock, according to an arrest affidavit.
The two had previously gone back and forth over text about the method of payment, with the 13-year-old insisting on receiving cash before eventually settling for a CashApp payment, according to conversations included in the affidavit.
The transaction didn't go as planned for the 13-year-old, who witnesses say wanted to extort more money from Smith by claiming the $350 CashApp payment didn't go through, investigators said.
After Smith got the gun and paid the 13-year-old, he drove off in his truck, and the 13-year-old started shooting, deputies said.
Multiple bullets hit Smith, and he ended up driving his vehicle off the road until it came to a stop in the tree line, according to investigators.
First responders had to break the windows of the bullet-riddled truck to access Smith, who died of his injuries at a hospital, deputies said.
Investigators reported finding 14 rifle shell cases near the scene.
The 13-year-old is accused of fleeing the scene, but he was taken into custody not long after in nearby Alachua County when deputies said they found him with a stolen vehicle, prompting a brief chase.
Over the course of the last year, deputies reviewed phone location records, conducted DNA swaps and interviewed witnesses, culminating in a murder charge for the teen, who turned 14 in January.
Ocala is about an 80-mile drive northwest from Orlando.