Driver in Daytona Beach crash that killed 3 teens charged in Deltona drive-by shooting

The driver in a Daytona Beach crash on April 1 that resulted in the deaths of three teenagers was arrested and charged in a February drive-by shooting according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.

Miguel Miranda, 19, of Deltona, was charged Wednesday with aggravated battery and firing into an occupied dwelling in the Feb. 12 shooting on Trade Street in Deltona. He was being held Thursday in the Volusia County Branch Jail without bail.

Drive-by gun found in crashed vehicle

Detectives responded to the Feb. 12 drive-by shooting at around 7:20 a.m. and found a 16-year-old boy shot in the arm. The teen was sleeping in a front bedroom with his 7-week-old nephew when two shots came through the window, one striking him. The infant wasn’t injured, said sheriff's spokesman Andrew Gant.

After an investigation of video surveillance footage and follow-up interviews with the victim and with the registered owner of the vehicle, Miranda emerged as one of several persons of interest, Gant said.

In announcing the arrest, the sheriff's office named Miranda as the driver in the April 1 crash, information that had not been publicly disclosed.

Gant said that during the crash investigation, a 9mm handgun was recovered from near the driver’s seat where Miranda was sitting. The gun was identified as the same one that fired the bullet recovered from the bedroom on Trade Street.

Cell phone records also showed Miranda’s phone was in the area of the shooting on Trade Street at the time it occurred, and left the county immediately after, sheriff's detectives said.

Charge possible in triple fatality crash Criminal charges possible for driver in crash that killed 3 teens in Daytona Beach

Miranda was driving a Nissan Murano when he crashed into a tree at West International Speedway Boulevard and Franklin Street at 5:03 a.m. on April 1.

"Arriving crews had to overcome entrapment, an ejection, two trauma alerts, and three fatalities," the Daytona Beach Fire Department reported at the time. "Unknown what caused the accident."

Three of Miranda's friends were killed in the crash, including two who had been interviewed during the drive-by shooting investigation, Gant said. The only other survivor of the crash was a 16-year-old girl who suffered serious injuries.

Victims identified

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The News-Journal previously identified the three teens who died in the crash as Richard Anthony Acevedo, 19, Adam Robert Acevedo, 17, of Deltona, and Michael Liburd, 14, of Orange City.

Richard Acevedo, the father of Richard and Robert, told the News-Journal in a previous story that Miguel was his son Richard's best friend. Acevedo said he was told that Miguel possibly fell asleep while driving.

Miranda went to Pine Ridge High School, as did the Acevedo brothers.

Previous arrest

According to the Volusia Sheriff's Office and court records, in July 2021, Miranda and Anderson Cantres, 27, Miranda's brother, were arrested on charges of attempted murder following a drive-by shooting in Deltona.

In the shooting, on Danforth Avenue, deputies responded at around 10:30 p.m. to a report of a vehicle being shot several times. There were no injuries.

Detectives interviewed both Cantres and Miranda and determined Cantres fired the shots in the July incident while Miranda drove the car and supplied the gun. Cantres was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle, shooting into a dwelling, and other charges.

Miranda was charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated stalking, principal to shooting into a dwelling, principal to shooting into an occupied vehicle, and two counts of principal to aggravated assault.

Cantres reached a plea deal with prosecutors and is incarcerated at Graceville until July of 2034, according to the state Department of Corrections.

As for Miranda, he was 17 at the time of the crime and was sent to the Department of Juvenile Justice. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement background check on Miranda shows a number of charges filed against him as a juvenile but no convictions and does not indicate the disposition of the drive-by shooting case.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Driver in triple-fatality crash charged with shooting teen in home