Sheriff: Prosecutors should have looked closer at suspect’s case prior to Pine Hills shooting

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (FLV) – Orange County Sheriff John Mina said prosecutors should have looked closer at Keith Moses’ criminal record and cases prior to him allegedly shooting five people last month, according to Spectrum 13.

Moses is the suspected gunman who allegedly shot five people Feb. 22, killing three of them including a 9-year-old and television reporter.

Moses has at least eight felony and 11 misdemeanor arrests, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Ninth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Monique H. Worrell said Moses’ only adult offense was a possession of marijuana in 2021 – that her office did not charge.

According to the documents from the arrest, Moses and two other young men were seen smoking suspected marijuana in a car. As deputies approached the car, a stolen firearm was thrown out of the window.

The deputies did not charge anyone with possessing the stolen firearm. Mina stated that the case should have warranted a closer look by prosecutors, due to the totality of the circumstances.

The sheriff said he would have “preferred the case move forward with prosecution,” however, deputies never filed gun charges. 

“It should be noted that all three subjects have multiple prior firearm possession charges, to include Attempted First Degree Murder and Armed Robbery with a Firearm and all had ski mask style masks on them or in the vehicle,” the arrest document said.

According to arrest affidavit, the deputy said he would be authoring DNA warrants for all three subjects to compare against the recovered firearm, although that never happened.

“It does not appear the DNA warrants were obtained by the patrol deputy who wrote that initial report and arrest affidavit,” a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said to the news outlet, calling it a “misstep” in the investigation.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives tested the firearm in August 2022 to see if it was used in other crimes, but no test results were available.

Worrell previously spoke out on why her office did not charge for Moses’ possession of 4.6 grams of marijuana at a press conference last week.

“When you have a quantity that low, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement does not test the substance, and that means the State Attorney’s Office cannot prove the case,” Worrell said.

She also said Florida law prohibits her from discussing the details of any juvenile dispositions.

“I cannot believe they let this guy – you have to hold people accountable. This idea – and, I know the district attorney, state attorney in Orlando thinks that you don’t prosecute people and that’s the way that you somehow have better communities – that does not work,” DeSantis said.

DeSantis’ office sent a letter to Worrell demanding answers after an alleged shooter with a criminal history was allowed to stay on the streets prior to the shooting.

“Tragically, despite the clear threat that Mr. Moses posed to our community, you apparently made the decision to not pursue charges against him,” Executive Office of the Governor general counsel Ryan Newman said in the letter.

“The failure of your office to hold this individual accountable for his actions – despite his extensive criminal history and gang affiliation – may have permitted this dangerous individual to remain on the street. Clearly, Mr. Moses should never have been in a position to commit those senseless crimes of last week.”

Newman said the office will determine if Moses was enabled by “gaps in our sentencing laws” or because of Worrell’s office’s “failure to properly administer justice.”

“The shocking nature of these horrific acts is difficult enough to process, but even more galling is the fact that the man who was promptly arrested for these crimes, Mr. Keith Melvin Moses (aka Keith Moses), date of birth June 11, 2003, has been allowed to remain on the streets after multiple arrests, including one your office has refused to prosecute,” the letter said.