Doorbell camera helps police charge Ellenton man with attempted murder in Sarasota drive-by shooting
A 19-year-old Ellenton man is facing a first-degree attempted murder charge Thursday after deputies say he sent a man to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds in a drive-by shooting.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office arrested Carlos Henry-Antonio Herrera Dec. 8 following an investigation into the shooting, which happened around 3 a.m. Nov. 23. Investigators say footage from a Ring doorbell camera helped identify Herrera as the shooter.
According to the arrest report, the video surveillance captured a white Jeep Liberty approaching a silver Chrysler 300 in an apartment complex parking lot before shots were fired and the Jeep fled the area. Responding deputies found the victim unconscious in the driver seat of the Chrysler 300.
The victim was taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in critical condition. The victim, whose identity has not been released by law enforcement officials, is still alive.
Using the video evidence, Sarasota deputies tracked the Jeep’s license plate and determined that it belongs to a local Enterprise car rental agency. However, Enterprise managers said the car had been rented by a woman who has not returned the vehicle.
Deputies contacted that woman, who said she rented the car for Herrera but did not know the location of the vehicle. Later, Enterprise told detectives that the car had been returned to the agency.
The sheriff’s office was able to forensically process the Jeep, which provided evidence that Herrera had driven the vehicle. According to an arrest report, his fingerprints were found on the vehicle’s windows, frame and license plate.
In an interview with investigators, Herrera reportedly denied being in Sarasota County for the past three months, driving the vehicle or having any relationship with the woman who rented the car from Enterprise.
On Dec. 6, the sheriff’s office’s forensic experts said they found Herrera’s DNA on a 9 mm bullet casing recovered from the scene of the shooting.
Court records show Herrera has had previous run-ins with law enforcement. In July, Sarasota County deputies arrested Herrera at a gas station. At the time, investigators say they found a 9 mm gun in the car and enough fentanyl, rock cocaine and oxycodone hydrochloride pills to charge him with drug trafficking.
On Thursday, deputies charged Herrera with first-degree attempted murder and discharging a firearm from a vehicle. Herrera, who was already in the Sarasota County Correctional Facility for charges of fleeing the police, drug trafficking and possession, is being held without bond.
Investigators say more arrests are expected to be announced in connection with the shooting.
