VERO BEACH — Two men were arrested after they were seen running in the woods where gunshots had been fired earlier, Indian River County deputies said.
A camouflage ski mask and black and latex gloves were found in a vehicle the pair had been in earlier.
Humberto David Lee Hill, 19, of the 1700 block of 10th Way Southwest, and Jerome Lamar Brown, 18, of the 4200 block of 48th Street, each were charged with loitering or prowling. Both, of Vero Beach, were released Wednesday from the Indian River County Jail, each on $500 bail.
Humberto Hill
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’ S OFFICE
Jerome Brown
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, deputies went to the Vero Beach Outlets in response to shots being fired in the woods behind the Columbia store. A deputy who arrived at the scene saw a security officer standing in a parking lot by the wooded area and next to a gray Mercury Grand Marquis.
The Marquis was the only vehicle behind the mall at that time in pitch black darkness, deputies said. When the deputy got out of the vehicle, he heard footsteps as if someone were running away into the woods behind the mall.
The security officer told the deputy, “They are running back into the woods westbound.”
The deputy turned on his flashlight and saw two dark shadows disappear into the woods.
The security officer told the deputy he heard shots being fired directly in front of where they were standing, deputies said. So, the deputy went behind a palm tree for cover.
Moments later, the deputy heard two voices whispering in the woods and shined his flashlight in that direction. He saw two men, later identified as Hill and Brown, who then walked out from behind the bushes and palm trees.
Both men were sweating as they came out of the woods.
Whenpolice took them into custody, Hill said, “We’re out here trying to look for a place to shoot a music video later on since we can’t do it anywhere else.”
The deputy asked Hill how he would be able to see anything in the darkness if he had no flashlights or cameras. Hill told the deputy, “This is a normal time for us to be out here looking around.”
The deputy went back to the Marquis and saw rubber latex gloves on the dashboard and rear seat, according to authorities. The deputy also found a small marijuana blunt and a book bag containing a camouflage ski mask, a pair of black gloves and more latex gloves.
A firearm was not found. Brown told the deputy the vehicle was his grandmothers and that he drove it to the mall with Hill as a passenger. The deputy determined both Hill and Brown were possibly going to commit or attempt to commit a crime.
Brown and Hill were taken to the county jail for booking.
