2 men wanted in connection with Boca Raton carjacking found in Broward. One was dead
A search for a Cadillac stolen during a carjacking in Boca Raton led law enforcement to a Pompano Beach neighborhood early Friday. Deputies say they found one of the men involved in the car’s theft in a nearby apartment complex. The other man, a 23-year-old from Tamarac, was found dead inside the car.
Now, deputies are trying to figure out who shot him.
It all went down Friday when the Broward County Sheriff’s Office said it received a call shortly before 1 a.m. to help Boca Raton police track a dark-colored Cadillac that was stolen during a carjacking in Boca Raton.
When the Cadillac came to a stop in the 1100 block of Northwest 18th Drive in Pompano Beach, 20-year-old Alex Exantus got out and ran into a nearby apartment complex, said BSO spokesman Carey Codd. Exantus was later taken into custody.
That’s when deputies found 23-year-old Ariel Collazo of Tamarac inside the car — dead with a gunshot wound.
He and Exantus were involved in the carjacking, deputies said.
The sheriff’s office says that a loaded firearm was found inside the Cadillac and a “preliminary investigation reveals that no BSO deputies discharged their firearms during this incident.”
BSO homicide detectives are now investigating Collazo’s death and are waiting for the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine if he died from the shooting.
As for Exantus, the North Lauderdale resident is facing charges in connection with a carjacking that occurred in the parking lot of an apartment complex at 10 p.m. Thursday in the 1200 block of Hampton Boulevard in North Lauderdale, according to the sheriff’s office.
It is still unclear what charges he will face in the Boca Raton carjacking. Boca Raton police, who are handling that investigation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anyone with information that can help with the investigation is asked to call Det. Kevin Nitsch at 954-321-4876. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477) or online at browardcrimestoppers.org.
This article will be updated.
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 9:12 AM.
