ST. LUCIE COUNTY — Two 18-year-olds were arrested early Tuesday after sheriff’s deputies investigating gunfire in the Collins Park area stopped a vehicle and found evidence of a shooting, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
Patrol Operations deputies heard gunshots around 1:45 a.m. Jan. 6 while in the area and began canvassing nearby streets. During the search, Deputy Cody Wells stopped a vehicle seen leaving the vicinity.
Deputies found multiple spent shell casings on the floorboard and a loaded firearm inside the car. A check of the serial number showed the gun had been reported stolen in Jacksonville. As the investigation continued, the driver showed deputies a Snapchat video that depicted a firearm being discharged from inside the vehicle toward the ground.
The driver, identified as Andy Marin-Ortiz, 18, of Fort Pierce, was arrested and charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a stolen firearm. He is being held at the St. Lucie County Jail.
Investigators later determined a second person had been inside the vehicle before the traffic stop. That individual, Joel Macias Lozano, 18, of Fort Pierce, was identified as the person who allegedly fired the weapon from the vehicle earlier in the evening.
Lozano was arrested and charged with discharging a firearm from a vehicle. He is also being held at the St. Lucie County Jail.