SEBASTIAN — No charges have been filed in a fatal shooting that took place last month in Sebastian in which, according to police reports, a taxi driver shot and killed one of two men who had phoned for a cab and then robbed the driver at knifepoint.
At this time, the Sebastian Police Department does not plan to file charges and is consulting with the State Attorney’s Office, 19th Judicial Circuit, to determine whether any further information is needed to complete the investigation.
Questions remaining should be answered when the autopsy report is released.
According to police reports, on Saturday, May 30, at 12:40 a.m., the SPD responded to a 911 call from Caravan Transport owner/driver Eric Wetzel of Sebastian, who reported he had been robbed at knifepoint at the intersection of Periwinkle Drive and Concha Drive and had shot one of the perpetrators.
The investigation revealed that Jason Murtha, who has a prior criminal history, had phoned the taxi company to request a ride from the Sebastian Highlands location to a Vero Beach hotel for himself and his cousin Michael Hains.
Both Murtha and Hains have used the taxi service before, and were known to Wetzel. On this night, however, Murtha requested to be picked up at a different location, rather than his residence at 1573 Cownie Lane.
Wetzel told police that Murtha entered the taxi, a van, though the driver’s side door and situated himself directly behind Murtha, while Hains entered via the passenger side slider door.
According to the cab driver, Murtha immediately produced a knife, put it to Wetzel’s neck and demanded his money.
Wetzel stated he handed Murtha the cash from his pocket, after which he said he attempted to escape by coasting away in the van. Wetzel alleged that Murtha had by then exited the van and continued to walk alongside, still yelling at him and “displaying the knife in a threatening manner.”
Wetzel stated he got out of the van, and, in fear and “believing he was still in danger,” he pulled a gun and shot at Murtha several times. Hains and Murtha then fled the scene.
Several officers arrived and immediately searched for Murtha and Hains, apprehending them a short time later at their Cownie Lane residence. Murtha still had the knife.
Murtha had sustained several gunshot wounds and was treated immediately by officers on the scene, and transported by EMS to the Sebastian River Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.
Police reports state that Wetzel “fired several times,” hitting Murtha five times.
Hains was uninjured and provided a voluntary statement as to his account of the incident.
Police confirmed that Wetzel possesses a valid concealed weapons permit.
During his 911 call, Wetzel appears calm in responding to the dispatcher’s questions. He states the perpetrators were “two white guys” and that one “held a knife to my neck” and complies with her request to put his 9mm semi-automatic pistol, which he tells her he has replaced in his hip holster, in the vehicle glove compartment.
When the dispatcher asks where he shot the subject, Wetzel replies “in the rear shoulder.”
Shortly after the incident, Wetzel, with the assistance of his attorney, provided a formal statement and reenactment of the May 30 events to detectives.
Questions, including where Wetzel and Murtha were standing when the shooting took place and where Murtha’s wounds were located are yet to be answered.
“We are working closely with the State Attorney’s Office of the 19th Circuit,” Sebastian Police Detective Sergeant Dan Acosta said. “An autopsy has been conducted by the Medical Examiner’s Office for the 19th Circuit and we are also awaiting their results.”
