Man, 19, arrested for attempted murder of teenager after shooting during OfferUp meeting in Homestead

A 19-year-old man appeared in bail court in Miami-Dade County on Thursday as he was charged in connection with an OfferUp meeting that left a 16-year-old boy injured in a shooting in Homestead.

Miami-Dade County inmate records show correctional officers located Aureliano Gomez at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday.

According to a police report, Homestead police officers arrested Gomez at his residence near Northeast Fourth Avenue and Campbell Drive just before 7:45 p.m. Wednesday.

According to the arrest report, two users of the online mobile marketplace app OfferUp made a deal in which they exchanged a minibike for a motorized bicycle and $200.

The OfferUp users agreed to meet in a parking lot at Northwest First Avenue and Ninth Street. The two users, the seller and the buyer, later claimed they were both victims of a robbery, police said.

The OfferUp user who allegedly owned the minibike told police officers that the robbers used a Nissan to block the exit, four approached and one used his elbow to smash the right rear window. A gunman wounded a teenager twice in the right leg and once in the stomach, police said.

Investigators used OfferUp and Facebook data to identify the buyer, who claimed to be selling a motorized bicycle and $200, as 16-year-old Tulio Gonzalez, a South Dade High School student who claimed the minibike belongs to him and was stolen.

Investigators also identified 17-year-old Jairo Garcia as an accomplice and Gomez as the driver of the Nissan that blocked the path before the shooting. Officers said they arrested Gomez as he attempted to repair the damaged Nissan.

Records show Corrections held Gomez without bail on an attempted murder charge Thursday afternoon. He also had a warrant out for his arrest while he was being convicted of felony charges of fleeing and evading police. It was a $5,000 bond.

Records show new charges have been filed against Gomez of attempted armed robbery, four counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and attempted tampering with evidence. A judge set his bail at $22,500.