The State Attorney’s Office has filed second-degree murder charges against a man following his arrest in connection with a fatal shooting resulting from a road rage incident in Riverview, as per a press release.
Jorge Ramirez, aged 20, was taken into custody after the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office discovered 34-year-old Bryan Proenza with gunshot wounds on January 26 near Rose Lane and Bay Tree Drive.
Initially, Ramirez was arrested in connection with the incident and faced three charges of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
On Tuesday, detectives, with the assistance of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, apprehended Ramirez in Brevard County without any issues. He is set to be transported to Orient Road Jail.
According to the state attorney’s office, Ramirez, accompanied by two friends in his black BMW sedan, approached Proenza’s vehicle from behind. Witnesses reported that Ramirez attempted to pass and cut through a parking lot to avoid waiting at a red light.
The passengers in Ramirez’s vehicle claim that he became enraged when Proenza’s vehicle blocked the entrance to the parking lot. Subsequently, Ramirez closely followed the victim’s vehicle, repeatedly ramming the hitch.
“He just asked them why they kept hitting the truck. Why? And I told them that I had two kids in the car and they didn’t care,” Keesee recounted. “It was just talking crap, and then the guns went off. And I was so scared for my and my children’s lives. And I thought [Bryan] was behind me, but he wasn’t.”
After being shot, Proenza passed away en route to the hospital.
“After a thorough review of the investigation from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, it is clear the defendant was the aggressor in this case,” State Attorney Suzy Lopez stated. “He had no regard for the victim’s life, or the lives of his small children who tragically watched their father die in the middle of the road. My heart is with his fiancé and loved ones as they work through this unimaginable trauma.”
