Man pulls out fake gun in drug deal gone wrong and is shot to death, Florida cops say
UPDATE: All charges against 31-year-old Robert Rafael Cruceta-Pimentel, including conspiracy to sell, manufacture or deliver cannabis, unlawful use of a two-way communication device, sale of cannabis, attempted robbery, second-degree felony murder, tampering with physical evidence, false information to law enforcement during an investigation, possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia, have been dropped as of Dec. 6, 2024, according to documents from the Polk County Circuit Court.
A motion to suppress was filed in March and was granted by the circuit judge, saying Cruceta-Pimentel was never given a Miranda warning and the means in which interviews were conducted by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office violated Cruceta-Pimentel’s fifth amendment rights.
The original story continues below.
A man accused of trying to commit a robbery during a drug deal was killed when he pulled out a fake gun and threatened another man, a Florida sheriff’s office said.
On Dec. 19, a Davenport man, 44, reached out to Robert Rafael Cruceta-Pimentel, 31, to buy marijuana, according to a Dec. 20 news release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Pimentel had been the man’s regular drug hookup for a while, Sheriff Grady Judd said in a Dec. 20 news conference, and the two arranged to meet.
The two agreed to meet up in the parking lot of the Tropicana Resort Motel, but before Pimentel arrived, he stopped at a nearby gas station, Judd said.
Harold Omar Sepulveda-Cruz, 33, had been in the car with Pimentel and told him he needed some quick cash and wanted to “hit a lick,” or rob someone, according to the sheriff’s office.
The two men devised a plan, and Pimentel went to the resort parking lot on his own, Judd said.
The man who wanted to purchase drugs got into the passenger seat of Pimentel’s car, and the two began negotiating the sale, Judd said.
They agreed on a $140 purchase, but before money exchanged hands, Sepulveda-Cruz, who had walked over from the gas station, jumped into the back seat of the car, according to the sheriff’s office.
Sepulveda-Cruz pulled out a fake gun, made out of a screwdriver duct taped to a block of wood, and held it up to the man’s head and then hit him with it, demanding the drugs and the money, Judd said.
The sheriff said the man pleaded with Sepulveda-Cruz to “not do this” because he had kids and it was Christmastime, but Sepulveda-Cruz told him he was going to shoot him if he didn’t hand over the money and marijuana.
The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a handgun, which he was carrying legally, and shot 10 times into the back seat where Sepulveda-Cruz sat, Judd said.
Sepulveda-Cruz was hit in the head and torso and died, Judd said.
Pimentel, who said nothing during the attempted robbery, and the buyer jumped out of the car and started “making up a story,” Judd said.
Pimentel grabbed the marijuana, the fake gun and Sepulveda-Cruz’s identification and threw them over a nearby fence, the sheriff said.
But while that was happening, the buyer called 911 and told deputies he had shot someone when they tried to rob him, Judd said.
“At this point in time, it certainly appears even though he was committing by buying a small amount of marijuana, he certainly was the victim of a (planned) robbery by his drug dealer and his drug dealer’s buddy,” Judd said.
The man has not been charged with a crime, but an investigation is under way, the sheriff’s office said.
The accused drug dealer, however, has been charged with second-degree murder and nine other drug-related charges, according to the sheriff’s office, and is being held without bond, the sheriff said.
Davenport is about 35 miles southwest of Orlando.
This story was originally published December 21, 2023 at 1:36 PM.
