According to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, two men were arrested on Thursday, November 15, 2018 at 8:00 PM for shooting at one another in unincorporated Lantana at the Sunny Hills Terrace residential community.
Shots Fired
Police were notified by nearby residents who heard the gun fires and officers immediately arrived at the crime scene. As the police pulled into the development they too heard the shots still firing in the area. However, the deputies concluded that no one was struck by the careless firing. Two men were detained and identified as Jimmy Occean of Boynton Beach and Andrenis Barthelemy of Delray Beach.
Interviewing Shooting Suspects
After the suspects were booked into Gun Club Jail, both men were interviewed about the details of the events that had taken place that evening. The officers quickly learned that both men arrested had guns at the crime scene and were shooting at one another, but fortunately no one was injured.
Barthelemy’s Story
Further into the interviews, Mr. Barthelemy explained that as he had arrived at the home of his children who reside at Sunny Hills Terrace. A vehicle then approached him with Mr. Occean inside and words were exchanged. A short time later, Occean backed his vehicle away from Barthelemy, but parked in front of another home nearby.
Mr. Barthelemy testified that immediately after Occean’s car stopped, and just as he began to walk towards his children’s home, he was being shot at. Barthelemy claimed to have found protection by ducking behind his own vehicle. Yet, he was unsure of who was shooting at him and was still unable to identify the shooter at the time of the interview.
Continuing on with his story, Barthelemy explained how he was able to retrieve a handgun from the glove box in his vehicle and wasted no time in firing back at the mysterious shooter. But as soon as the shooting stopped from the original aggressor, Barthelemy tried to leave the area. Noticing the police had arrived, he instead went inside his children’s home. The deputies received the consent from Barthelemy to search his vehicle where they discovered a black semi-automatic handgun on the floor board. The gun was submitted as evidence.
Occean’s Story
Mr. Occean’s side of the story reads that as he arrived in his vehicle at a friend’s home at Sunny Hills Terrace, he began to have a verbal altercation with a man he had known from Instagram. Occean claimed to own a record label and explained the argument with Barthelemy was over a deal that had previously fallen through.
Occean testified that he parked and got out of his car. Immediately and without a warning, he was being shot at. He then grabbed a handgun from his pocket and began shooting back. Later, the defendant hid the gun in a shed located in the back yard of the home he was visiting. Deputies were given consent to search the property and found the gun, which was also submitted as evidence.
Who’s Telling the Truth?
The police report specified that numerous shell casings and projectiles were recovered at the scene of the crime. Several people witnessed hearing the gunfire and provided statements, but no one who was present was able to decipher which suspect fired first.
Criminal Backgrounds of the Men Arrested
Jimmy Occean was arrested in 2012 for Tampering with Physical Evidence and adjudicated in Palm Beach County. He is a Convicted Felon and currently being charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon and is being held on a $52,000 bond.
Andrenis Barthelemy has been arrested numerous times in Palm Beach County for various misdemeanor and felony crimes, including charges for selling drugs, vehicle theft, disorderly conduct, assaulting an officer and repeat arrests for driving without a license and other traffic violations. He is currently being charged with Discharging a Firearm in Public, but has been released on his Own Recognizance. NO BAIL REQUIRED.
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