Raidel Armas Gonzalez, 50, was found dead on December 18, 2019, in the yard of a residence at 441 Fernandez Street in Wahneta, a Winter Haven neighborhood. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reported he died from an apparent gunshot wound. Deputies later found the house was being used as an illegal marijuana grow operation and recovered 162 pounds of marijuana there.

Surveillance video and cellphone evidence were pivotal in identifying suspects. Julio Ramirez-Peraza, 47, of Lakeland, and Lazaro Perez-Toledo, 39, of West Palm Beach, were indicted by a Polk County grand jury on first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and attempted robbery with a firearm after footage allegedly showed them parking, walking to the house, a muzzle flash, and then leaving. Several others tied to the grow operation were arrested and charged with cultivation, trafficking, maintaining a structure for sale or manufacture of a controlled substance, and accessory after the fact.

Anyone with information about the shooting, the grow operation, or who saw activity near 441 Fernandez Street on December 18, 2019, is asked to come forward.