Police Apprehend Melbourne Murder Suspect
By Space Coast Daily // July 29, 2012
Girlfriend Arrested As Accessory
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – The suspect in a murder early Saturday morning was taken into custody Sunday by Melbourne Police and deputies from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office “GAMEOVER” Task Force.
Jared Braun of Mebourne, 20, was wanted for the death of James Bly, who was shot shortly after midnight Saturday at an apartment complex off Babcock Street in Melbourne. Braun was arrested Sunday afternoon without incident.
Nneighbors reported hearing gunshots early Saturday morning at 28 Circle Avenue, Apartment 1 in Mebourne.
Officers responding to the scene discovered Bly, 20, who was suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen outside the apartment complex.
He was transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne where he was treated and subsequently died.
Homicide investigators identified Braun as the gunman and received a tip that he was staying at the Budget Inn Motel, 4505 West New Haven Avenue in Melbourne.
Confirming he was there, authorities coverged upon Room 234 at the motel and picked up Braun on a charge of first degree murder.
Braun’s girlfriend, an Amanda Toomata, 22, was present during his capture and was arrested as an accessory to first degree murder.
Braun and Toomata were transported to the Melbourne Police Department where they were formally charged and booked then remanded to the Brevard County Jail.
