St. Lucie County Sheriff’s officials are expected July 14 to provide more details about the arrest of a man in connection with the July 7 homicide of St. Lucie County public schools art teacher Andre Barnes.
Dale Mincey, 41, was charged July 11 with first-degree premediated murder following the fatal shooting of Barnes, of Fort Pierce.
The sheriff’s office has not publicly disclosed evidence linking Mincey to the homicide, and it is expected that will be addressed at a 3 p.m. July 14 briefing.
Barnes had been employed with the St. Lucie County school district as an art teacher since 2017, according to chief communications officer Lydia Martin.
During those nine years, Martin said, he taught at West Gate K-8 School in Port St. Lucie and most recently at Samuel S. Gaines Academy of Emerging Technologies in Fort Pierce.
About 3:30 p.m. July 7, St. Lucie County sheriff’s deputies went to a home in the 2700 block of Essex Drive after reports of a person suffering from a gunshot wound, according to sheriff’s officials.
Deputies found Barnes had been shot with a rifle, according to officials. They took the accused shooter, later identified as Mincey, into custody and gave emergency medical care to Barnes until St. Lucie County Fire District crews arrived.
Barnes was taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, where he was pronounced dead, sheriff’s Capt. Andrew Bolonka has said.
Mincey was taken to the St. Lucie County Jail, where he was held on felony warrants out of Broward County on charges of dealing in stolen property and false verification to a pawn broker.
Mincey was charged in connection with Barnes’ death on July 11.
Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Details to be released in public school teacher’s slaying in Florida
Reporting by Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
