Victim of fatal shooting in Vero Beach Friday night identified

Indian River County, Fl- Just before midnight, July 13, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office received a call of a shooting in Countryside Mobile Home Park, 8775 20th Street. Arriving deputies and fire rescue personnel located Samuel Tesci (18) deceased near Lot 11 with a fatal gunshot wound.

Anthony Cavil (18), Latravious Rivers (19), and Roberto Santos (18) all of Vero Beach, were detained as part of the investigation. Detectives have since learned that Tesci, Cavil, Rivers, and Santos rented a hotel room at the Vero Beach Hotel in the afternoon hours of July 13th. Together, they planned to order one pound of marijuana from Dominic Coppola (21) of Vero Beach, and rob him of the marijuana upon delivery. The drug deal was slated to occur at Lot 11 in Countryside Mobile Home Park, as it gave them easy access to rob Coppola and flee a short distance to their hotel room at Vero Beach Hotel. (Am waiting for verification if it the Vero Beach Inn and Suites

When Coppola arrived, a struggle ensued at which time Coppola pulled a gun and fired several shots, one which struck Tesci.

All parties fled the scene, leaving the pound of marijuana and Tesci behind. When the group gathered at the hotel room and realized Tesci didn’t make it back, they walked back to the scene and found him deceased. After approximately one hour, they decided to call law enforcement. The three were taken to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and interviewed by Detectives Michael Dilks and Chris Lester where these details were obtained.

Coppola’s truck was recovered and seized to be searched pending application for a search warrant. Detectives have been in contact with Coppola who has agreed to turn himself in.

Victim of fatal shooting in Vero Beach Friday night identified

At this time, Cavil, Rivers, and Santos have been arrested and charged with 2nd degree felony murder, as the incident occurred during an attempted robbery. Cavil, Rivers, and Santos will face first appearance hearings in the morning, where bond will be determined.

They are currently being held at the Indian River County Jail. Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar stated, “Our detectives have been out all night working this homicide case. Because of their hard work, three of four individuals responsible for this death are behind bars this afternoon. The fourth person involved has agreed to surrender to our detectives and will be in custody soon.”