Winter Garden teen charged with murder

A 13-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder after police say he shot a man in the early-morning hours of Thursday, July 4, in Winter Garden. 

According to the Winter Garden Police Department, Vamari D. Bostic’s grandmother brought him to authorities after police obtained a warrant for his arrest.

Officers responded to reports of a shooting at about 2 a.m. Thursday, July 4, at the intersection of West Crown Point Road and Edgeway Drive. There, officers said, they discovered James Anthony Bacon, 25, who had been shot in the torso.

Officers attempted CPR on Bacon before he was transported to the hospital. Bacon was pronounced dead at 2:47 a.m. 

According to Capt. Scott Allen, of the Winter Garden Police Department, the two crossed paths and got into an argument, during which Bostic shot Bacon and fled.

Before turning himself in, Bostic was considered by police to be armed and dangerous. 

Investigators said they still are interviewing witnesses and believe the incident was related to a weeks-long dispute between the two. 

“They were friends in some manner,” Allen said. “It’s weird to say that a 13-year-old and 25-year-old were friends, but I want to say that they just kind of hung out in the same group, and there was a falling out that caused them to have beef with one another.”

Bostic appeared before a judge Friday, July 5, and will be held in juvenile detention until he returns to court Aug. 2, Allen said.

Bacon’s mother, Tysha Brunson Townsel, spoke out on social media, offering forgiveness. 

“In the midst of it all, I’m praying for the young man that killed my son and his family,” she wrote on Facebook.