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1 suspect in mall shooting is released

By TIMES WIRES
Published December 30, 2006

One of two suspects arrested in a fatal Christmas Eve shooting at a mall that sent shoppers running for cover has been released from jail pending further investigation, authorities said Friday. Fregens Daniel, 21, was arrested Sunday on suspicion of first-degree murder, along with Jesse Cesar, also 21. But Daniel was found to have been involved only in an earlier altercation, not in the shooting of a rival gang member, according to an affidavit. Cesar remains held without bail on suspicion of first-degree murder. He is accused of firing the shots that killed Berno Charlemond, 23, and of shooting at authorities, according to the arrest report. No one else was injured.

Jamaicans found near body, drugs

A dozen Jamaican men were in the custody of immigration officials Friday after being picked up in Martin County near the spot where authorities also found a boat, a body and a bag full of drugs. Deputies found a 36-foot boat beached about 100 yards south of a marina, close to the man's body, Martin County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Jenell Atlas said Friday. Authorities identified the dead man as Nigel Warren, 58, from Jamaica. He was found 5 feet from the boat and assumed to be part of the group, Atlas said. Authorities described the men as illegal immigrants and believe they broke into an area home late Thursday to eat, shower and change clothes.

Hotel death linked to gas poisoning

Carbon monoxide poisoning contributed to the death of a man who was on vacation at a resort in the Florida Keys, authorities said Friday. Thomas Lueders, 26, and his father, Richard Lueders, 53, both of Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., were found unconscious and taken from the Doubletree Grand Key Resort to a hospital on Wednesday. Thomas was pronounced dead, and Richard was later flown to a hospital in Fort Myers, where he was treated and released Thursday. Their fourth-floor room was adjacent to the boiler room that was the source of the carbon monoxide. A local task force confirmed an "abnormally high level of carbon monoxide in the area of the fourth floor," according to a statement from Key West officials. The 211 hotel guests were immediately evacuated Wednesday and relocated to other hotels. The hotel's certificate of occupancy was revoked Friday until a mechanical engineer clears the building, Key West City Manager Julio Avael said. The hotel could be closed until March.

[Last modified December 30, 2006, 01:14:20]