FLORIDA REAL ESTATE KIDNAPPED, FORCED TO TAKE MONEY FROM AN ATM BEFORE BEING MURDERED BY TEEN: REPORTS

A 15-year-old boy allegedly forced a real estate agent to drive to a Bank of America and withdraw $1,000 before shooting him dead. 

Now, the teen is charged with murder as an adult, according to South Florida Sun Sentinel. 

On Feb. 1, Stefano Barbosa, 37, just obtained signatures from a customer when he was approached on the street by a 15-year-old boy holding a gun. The teen forced Barbosa to drive about a mile to a bank, where Barbosa made two separate withdrawals of $500 each.

The teen was identified as Henry Lewis, according to media reports. 

According to Sun Sentinel, police said Barbosa went back to the car and continued to drive when Lewis shot him in the upper chest. Barbosa then drove the car through a fence before hitting a tree. 

Lewis ran from the scene. 

After reviewing surveillance video from the neighborhood and bank, Fort Lauderdale police identified the suspect, as he has a long history with the police, according to the reports. He has been taken into custody by police several times, including robbery with a gun when he was 12 years old.

Police shared photos from the videos with people in his neighborhood and at his school. They also identified the teen, according to the reports. 

The teen was already in custody for unrelated charges of burglaries, resisting arrest and battery on a police officer, but police added the new charges of murder and armed robbery. He was charged as an adult on the newest counts. 

Broward County Judge John Murphy told Lewis, and reported by local media, “I know it says you’re 15 years old, but you’ve been charged as an adult with a first count of murder while engaged in a (second count of) robbery with a firearm.”

Investigators linked Lewis’ cell phone to the killing, as it showed he was in the area where Barbosa was abducted, which was a mile away from the teen’s home. Also, Lewis’ internet search history showed he had looked at a news story about Barbosa’s death.

Since being charged as an adult, the teen faces life behind bars. If he was charged as a juvenile, he would have been released in three years and only kept under supervision in the community until he turned 21.