JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man arrested Wednesday after a SWAT team standoff on the Westside was wanted for killing a man outside an East Arlington Burger King last month, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
Michael Forte, 34, was one of three people arrested after a seven-hour standoff with police on Noroad. Police said Forte knew 38-year-old Luciano Brewer, who staggered into the restaurant at the corner of Hodges and Atlantic boulevards after the Sept. 8 shooting. He died at the hospital.
Recommended Videos
Friday morning, JSO said Brewer (pictured below) had agreed to meet Forte in the parking lot of the Burger King to buy $400 of heroin, but rather than making the deal, Forte pulled a handgun and attempted to keep both the drugs and the money.
Police said Forte and William James, 31, were seen in surveillance video driving away and that Forte had bragged to a friend that he killed Brewer.
"As Brewer attempted to escape the vehicle, Forte shot him in the chest. Brewer then got out of the vehicle. James and Forte fled the scene," JSO Lt. Steve Gallaher said.
Forte is charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Police said he stole the handgun used in the killing and two other weapons from his father's home earlier in the day.
James was arrested earlier this month and police said he is the one who told them Forte was the triggerman. Police also said James admitted to throwing away the spent shell casings left in the car after the shooting. James is charged with accessory to murder and tampering with evidence.
After several weeks, police caught up to Forte after receiving an anonymous tip that he was inside a mobile home just off 103rd Street and Monroe Smith Road on the Westside.
