Man arrested in killing near Kissimmee hookah bar while deputies search for second suspect
A man suspected in a deadly November shooting outside a Kissimmee hookah bar was extradited to Osceola County last week as deputies search for an alleged accomplice.
Christopher Garrett, 31, was booked in the Osceola County Jail on Friday and faces a second-degree murder charge following his arrest last month in Columbus, Ohio. Investigators said he shot and killed Joshua Mitchell in the parking lot outside Café Lungo early on the morning of Nov. 14. In an unsigned statement, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said they still are looking for 28-year-old Joshua Franceschi, who allegedly was with Garrett and attacked Mitchell just moments before he was shot.
Mitchell’s girlfriend told investigators they had been to several bars that night before going to Café Lungo, where they encountered Garrett and Franceschi along with a third, unidentified man. The girlfriend, who isn’t being named by the Orlando Sentinel, said Mitchell met Franceschi some weeks earlier “when he deescalated an incident involving Franceschi and a gun,” according to an affidavit.
She said she left to sleep in Mitchell’s truck while the four men drank together. Surveillance video indicates that around 4:12 a.m., Garrett moved “to a position of advantage” on Mitchell before Franceschi struck Mitchell, followed by a single gunshot. Garrett and Franceschi fled in an SUV before deputies arrived at the parking at 4:19 a.m. Mitchell was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead just before 5 a.m.
It’s not clear what prompted the shooting.
According to the affidavit, Garrett and Franceschi were first identified by a bouncer who was seen hugging them when they arrived at the lounge earlier that night. Their identities were later confirmed by Mitchell’s girlfriend, investigators said.
The Sheriff’s Office, which hadn’t informed the public about the shooting until Monday, released a photo of Franceschi and asked the public for any information about his whereabouts. Members of the public can call the agency at 407-348-2222 or Crimeline at 800-423-8477.
“Currently, Joshua Franceschi’s location is unknown, and he is believed to be absconding from law enforcement,” the agency said in a statement.
The parking lot at Café Lungo was also the scene of a fatal shooting early Christmas morning. In that incident, deputies arrested Gabriel Correa, 26, Sheriff Marcos López announced on Jan. 4. López said Correa fired several shots into the lounge just before 5 a.m. after an argument with an employee.
Correa allegedly returned moments later and fired more shots, this time killing a man identified as Terrell Williams. Correa was arrested in Polk County for premeditated murder, then extradited to Osceola County where he was booked into jail on Friday.
