Questions Remain: Was Victim Partially Responsible For Own Death By Biking In Pre-Dawn Hours On Road Built For Cars?
BY: 24/7 CRIME DESK | BocaNewsNow.com
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2023 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — The Deerfield Beach man accused of slamming to Boca Raton bicyclist Lonquinho Junior late last month was rumored to be preparing to flee to Brazil. The man, Samuel Vasconcellos, was nabbed by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, and then turned over to investigators in Palm Beach County.
The crash happened around 5 a.m. on April 29th in the 7400 block of SW 18th Street. Junior, on a bicycle and driving in a vehicle lane, was struck from behind. He flew into the striking vehicle and fell to the street. He was rushed to Delray Medical Center where he later died. Police say the striking vehicle was driven by Vasconcellos. Vasconcellos, according to a police report obtained by BocaNewsNow.com, stayed at the scene until rescuers arrived, and then fled — with the victim’s cell phone. It’s unclear if the phone was taken on purpose or if Vasconcellos took it in a state of confusion. The phone ultimately led investigators to Vasconcello.
The following are a series of excerpt from the affidavit of probable cause filed in Vasconcello’s arrest. We note that Vasconcello is charged with leaving the scene of an accident with death, but he is NOT charged with Lonquinho Junior’s death at this time. It is unclear if prosecutors believe Junior was partially responsible for his death by riding a bicycle in a vehicle lane during the pre-dawn hours April 29th.
EXCERPT 1: The rider of B-1 was traveling eastbound on 18th Street in the 7400 block, Boca Raton, in Palm Beach County, Florida. Bicyclist-1 was traveling within the outside (number 2) lane. The driver of Vehicle-1 was also traveling eastbound on SW 18th Street in the outside lane. Due to B-1 traveling in the travel lane in the path of VI a violent crash occurred. During the crash, the rider of B-I was ejected from the bicycle and onto the hood of V-1. The rider rolled up the hood of the car and into the windshield, then onto the roof of the vehicle, before being thrown from the vehicle and impacted the roadway sustaining serious bodily injury. On scene paramedics transported the rider of B-1 to Delay Medical Center as a trauma alert.
EXCERPT 2: At approximately 1:15 p.m. I responded to 4611 & Federal Highway in Pompano Beach, Florida with the assistance from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Upon arriving at the residence we walked the parking lot were we located a 2022, Blue, Chevrolet Malibu baring Indiana tag: FL778ACR in the parking garage with a smashed front windshield. The vehicle also had damage to the bumper on the driver side and was missing the same pieces of car parts that were recovered from the scene (the pieces were compared to the missing car parts and matched). Shortly after, an Investigator responded to the scene and was tasked with standing by with the vehicle.
EXCERPT 3: The Investigator and I then began to search the area where the phone had last pinged. Due to the dense vegetation and waterway in the area we were unable to locate the cell phone. While searching for the victim’s cell phone, the suspect’s sister, Nicole Vasconcellos arrived at the suspect’s residence which was being guarded by a Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy. He directed her to us, the Investigator and I then made contact with her and she stated she was just coming to the residence to get some medication. She stated she heard that her brother Samuel was involved in some type of crash but didn’t know much more than that. She also stated she was unsure where Samuel was at. She also stated she was unsure whether or not Samuel’s phone was working or not because she tried calling it and he did not answer.
EXCERPT 4: She confirmed Samuel’s phone number to be (redacted). She stated he rents different cars all the time because he crashed his car along I-95 a while back. She stated she was unsure what car Samuel was driving now. She then stated her mother was in her car in the parking garage. I then made contact with the suspect’s mother, Ilda Vasconcellos who stated she resides at 4611 N Federal Highway in Apartment 124, with her son Samuel Vasconcellos. She stated she was unsure where Samuel was at or where he was coming from. She then stated Samuel was driving her car (V-1) and it now had a damaged windshield. She then advised me she was waiting for him when he arrived home this morning, she went to the car she rented to check it and that was when she noticed the car was damaged. She stated because he was away for so long she went and looked at the car and noticed the damage.
EXCERPT 5: After that she went to her daughter’s house and asked her what happened to her car. And her daughter said she doesn’t know. Samuel then told her that he was unsure what happened and then stated he told her he was in a crash with a bicycle. She stated she did not have the keys of the car with her at the time. She stated when Samuel left the house he was wearing blue leans and a black shirt. She stated the rented vehicle was in her name. She then took us to her residence to see if Samuel was there, we were met with negative results. She voluntarily allowed us inside of her residence, and I noticed in the laundry basket in her bedroom closet there were male’s clothes with blood stains on them. She pointed them out as the clothes Samuel was wearing the night prior. The residence was immediately secured pending a search warrant for the clothes.
EXCERPT 6: Broward County Sheriff’s Office Detectives then began search warrants for the residence and the vehicle. Upon receiving the search warrants, An investigator photographed and processed the vehicle which had blood stains on the windshield and outside of the car. He then photographed the vehicle. The vehicle was later towed from the parking garage by Sister’s Towing to the PBSO impound lot. Once the search warrant was received for the residence, the clothing was photographed in its original location and then collected. It should also be noted, the clothing had pieces of glass on it still, which was consistent with the damaged windshield of W-1.
The clothing matched the clothing that was depicted on the security vehicle’s dash camera. Ilda Vasconcellos was provided with a business card with case number and told to contact us when Samuel arrived if he wanted to speak with us. Shortly after, the suspect’s brother arrived and stated Samuel was going to return to talk to us. He then got agitated and stated he was not going to allow Samuel to speak with us and was going to tell Samuel to ask for a lawyer since he believed we were going to arrest him anyways.
At approximately 5:57 p.m., I made contact with Samuel out front of the apartment building. Samuel was wearing a black t-shirt with dark blue pants and red sandals. I read Samuel his constitutional rights which he verbally stated he understood. He then stated he preferred to speak with an attorney. I told him I needed the keys for the vehicle, and be stated they were on a black lanyard with the house key attached and he gave them to his mother, who was upstairs. As of May 8, 2023 I received information the suspect was planning to fee to Brazil. While the information was not confirmed, the suspect does have ties to Brazil.
As of Saturday, May 13th, 2023, Samuel Vasconcellos remains held on $250,000 bond.
