Ja’Quarius McCray charged with shooting murder of Roxana Sanchez in Orange County botched carjacking. Second suspect sought.
A 17 year old Florida teen boy has been arrested in connection to the carjacking death of an Orlando mother of two who was shot dead after she and a friend refused to hand over the keys to the BMW they were in upon pulling into the mom’s driveway.
Ja’Quarius McCray was charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder over the death of 36-year-old Roxana Sanchez in the early hours of May 8.
Of note, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the 17 year old had been declared unfit for trial for an armed burglary case in March – just six weeks before Sanchez’s murder.
McCray and an unidentified accomplice are said to have followed Sanchez and a friend as they drove home in a BMW from a night out, and allegedly boxed them into Sanchez’s driveway in Orlando.
Sanchez was shot dead after her friend tried to escape by reversing, and crashed into the carjackers’ car.
Suspect and accomplice boxed victim as she drove into home driveway
The sheriff’s office stated that investigators are still looking for a second suspect in the killing, and the reward for information leading to his capture has now been doubled to $10,000.
It remained unclear whether McCray was the person who pulled the trigger and fatally shot Sanchez WKMG reported.
Sanchez had just pulled into the driveway of her home in the 10000 block of Lecon Branch Court in Orlando, circa 12.30am, where her husband and two sons were asleep, when the married mom of two was boxed in by another vehicle.
Law enforcement officials stated that two men approached the car occupied by Sanchez and her friend, banging on the windows and ordering the two women to get out.
According to the sheriff’s office, the driver panicked and put her the car in reverse, ramming the suspects’ car. That prompted the perpetrator standing on Sanchez’s side to open fire on her before fleeing.
Sanchez was rushed to a hospital suffering from gunshot wounds and later died.
In a statement, Sanchez’s husband Douglas Meijia said: ‘My wife was a very caring person. She was my mountain in this relationship.’
Declared unfit for trial in armed burglary case six weeks before fatal carjacking
Sanchez’s sister described her in a GoFundMe campaign as the ‘most caring person’ and her ‘rock and sounding board.’
‘They just killed her without thinking leaving two small kids without a loving and caring mother, a husband without the love of his life, sisters without the glue that holds the family together, and the best daughter a parent could have,’ the sister stated, referring to Sanchez’s attackers.
Authorities have not revealed what led them to McCray.
Court records indicate that McCray has another criminal case pending against him in Orange County according to the dailymail. It stems from his February 2020 arrest on charges of armed burglary of a dwelling, robbery with a firearm, attempted aggravated battery with a firearm, shooting into a building and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Following a series of psychiatric evaluations, McCray was found unfit to proceed with the trial for the armed burglary. He was placed on conditional release on March 22 – just over six weeks before the botched carjacking that resulted in Sanchez’s death.
Judge Wayne Wooten ordered McCray to live with his mother, abide by a curfew from 6pm to 6am and make no contact with the burglary victim or his co-defendants.
A hearing in that case is scheduled for September 27.
