On the evening of July 20, 2024, Brandon Leo, a 22-year-old man from Orlando, was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida. He had traveled there to sell a pair of Apple AirPods after arranging the transaction online. The fatal encounter took place around 9:30 p.m. near the intersection of West 3rd Street and Pomegranate Avenue.
Leo had agreed to meet the buyer at a residence in the area.
After pulling his white pickup truck into the driveway, he was approached on the driver's side by at least two individuals. As Leo attempted to back his truck out of the driveway, several gunshots were fired. He was struck by the gunfire, and his truck crashed into a nearby retention pond. When Sanford police officers arrived at the scene, they found the vehicle partially submerged with Leo deceased inside from an apparent gunshot wound.
Investigators with the Sanford Police Department soon discovered that the house where the meeting was arranged was empty, leading them to believe the online sale was a premeditated setup for a robbery. Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith described the killing as a "senseless" tragedy, stating, "A family is grieving the loss of their son over a pair of headphones." He added that the perpetrators "clearly have no regard for the value of a human life."
The investigation led to the arrests of two teenagers in August 2024. On August 21, police arrested 15-year-old Dra’shawn Williams, who was already in custody for an unrelated charge. A second suspect, 17-year-old William Smith Jr., was arrested on August 27.
In September 2024, a Seminole County grand jury indicted both Williams and Smith on charges of first-degree felony murder and attempted robbery with a firearm. The Office of the State Attorney announced that both teenagers would be prosecuted as adults. The case is now proceeding through the court system.
