NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have arrested two people in connection to the killing of a 7-year-old girl in a drive-by shooting outside her Northwest Miami-Dade home.
Shanlavie Drayton said on Wednesday that Miami-Dade Police detectives had two people in custody for the killing of Alana Washington, her daughter.
Antonio Robinson, 22, one of the men arrested for killing Washington, appeared before a judge on Wednesday. The second man, identified as 23-year-old Jarvis Baker-Flanders, was arrested in Georgia.
Investigators said Robinson was the alleged driver and Baker-Flanders was the alleged gunman.
“I got a phone call that said two people were taken into custody. I feel great that they’re in custody. I just thank God that they’re in custody,” Drayton said. “I’m happy they’re in custody, and so this can end, so nobody else’s child has to get hurt, no other family has to deal with this. I’m just grateful that the Miami-Dade Police Department did their job.”
Shanlavie Drayton tells #7News two are in custody in connection to the July killing of her 7-year-old Daughter, Alana Washington. The child was killed outside of her NW #Miami-Dade home during a drive-by shooting. @wsvn @MiamiDadePD pic.twitter.com/bxG19natbC
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) September 9, 2020
Alana was shot and killed in a shooting outside of her home, along the 2900 block of Northwest 51st Street, on July 25. Three of her family members, including another child, were also shot on that day but survived.
Soon after, officials raised the reward for information on her killing to $55,000, and the community rallied to help find the people responsible for her death.
“Our police department came together to bring justice for Alana, and we’re doing everything we can together to stop this senseless killing,” Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez said.
Investigators said Robinson and Baker-Flanders allegedly followed the victims as they left a flea market along the 7900 block of Northwest 27th Avenue in a gray Nissan, and then followed them to their home. They also revealed Alana’s older brother was the intended target.
“Seven-year-old Alana Washington deserved a real opportunity to grow up and live a normal life,” Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle said. “Instead, she was cut down in a hail of bullets, clearly intended to settle a grievance. After the victims got home from the flea market, they parked. Moments later, a gray Nissan Altima drove by, and the occupants opened fire.”
Despite a development towards justice, the death of Alana continues to haunt Drayton and her family.
“Horrible, horrible, horrific, it’s unexplainable,” Drayton said. “It’s just unexplainable. They’re going to be charged. They’re going to be convicted, and they’re going to go to prison for life. She has no life, so they shouldn’t have a life.”
Robinson is currently being held on no bond and faces charges of second-degree murder and attempted first degree murder.
Baker-Flanders faces charges that include one count second-degree murder and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Fernandez Rundle and Ramirez thanked community leaders and the general public for calling in with tips to Crime Stoppers that helped them solve the case.
“This child’s life had value and meaning and deserved the respect that the two individuals now in custody refuse to give her,” Fernandez Rundle said.
Robinson remains behind bars at the Miami-Dade County Jail. Baker-Flanders remains in custody in Georgia on Thursday, but he is expected to be brought back to South Florida.
If convicted, both men could face life in prison.
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