Pine Hills shooting spree suspect Keith Moses indicted on first-degree murder charges
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An Orange County grand jury has indicted Keith Moses on first-degree murder charges in the fatal shooting of three people, including a 9-year-old girl and a Spectrum News 13 journalist, in Pine Hills last month.
Moses, 19, faces 16 total charges including two counts of attempted murder, four counts of shooting at or within a car or dwelling, three counts of resisting an officer without violence and charges of burglary, trespassing and illegal firearm possession.
“I’d like to thank our homicide team for their tireless work in preparing for this grand jury presentation,” said Orange-Osceola State Attorney Monique Worrell in a prepared statement before praising her staff and thanking the grand jury. She also sent regards to the victims’ families.
“Our thoughts are with all of them as they continue to grieve and cope with this unimaginable tragedy,” she said.
The State Attorney’s Office has not yet decided whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty. The determination will be made in the coming weeks after a review by an advisory board and Worrell.
“I spoke to all three families and they are deeply gratified by the actions taken by the... Office of the State Attorney,” said attorney Mark NeJame, who is representing the three fatal victims of the incident, adding: “My office is honored that we can be here for them and help them through these unimaginable times.”
On Feb. 22, Moses fatally shot Natacha Augustin, 38, shortly after he got in a car on Hialeah Street with her and a man who offered Moses a ride, according to an arrest affidavit.
Later that afternoon, authorities say Moses returned to the area and went to a nearby house, where he fatally shot T’Yonna Major, 9, and severely injured her mother, Brandi Major. He also shot two Spectrum News 13 journalists who were covering Augustin’s slaying, killing 24-year-old reporter Dylan Lyons and injuring photojournalist Jesse Walden, court records said.
The shootings shocked the community and led to public disputes between State Attorney Monique Worrell and the heads of the largest law enforcement agencies in her circuit, as well as GOP officials including Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott.
DeSantis and Scott accused her office of negligence, saying her staff should have prosecuted Moses in 2021 when he was arrested for possession of 4.6 grams of marijuana. It was his sole arrest as an adult and the only one that occurred after Worrell took office.
Before that, he had been arrested over a dozen times as a minor. In Florida, minors are not convicted unless they are tried as adults.
The governor’s office demanded from Worrell information related to Moses’ past cases and her policies regarding the prosecution of repeat offenders. The State Attorney has said DeSantis’ administration is seeking to justify her suspension from office.
She has accused Orange County Sheriff John Mina and Osceola County Sheriff Marcos López of working with the governor’s office. Both sheriffs have said the allegations are not true.
The Major and Lyons families have chided DeSantis and Scott for politicizing the deaths of their loved ones.
“Both families are strong and resolute in their conviction not to allow their children to die in vain or for them to be used as political pawns by DeSantis and Scott,” said NeJame at a press conference days after the shooting.
Moses has pleaded not guilty and remains in the Orange County Jail, according to court records.
His trial date has been scheduled for June 5; however, NeJame told the Sentinel that it will likely be delayed.
“A case like this in which there are dozens of witnesses and a capital offense now ... likely this would take a year or two before it ultimately ends up in trial,” he said.
