Suspect Charged In Last Saturday’s Homicide Near DeLand

DeLand, FL – It only took a few days for Volusia Sheriff’s Office (VSO) detectives to track down the suspect in a homicide that happened last Saturday (January 30). They arrested 43-year-old Jesus Torres of Crescent City yesterday (February 3) in Flagler County.  VSO Investigating Death Of Man In DeLand Parking Lot The victim, identified as 44-year-old Vicente Alejo Verdel, was pronounced dead in the parking lot of Dixie’s Gentlemen’s Club.  Witnesses told detectives an altercation started inside the club, then moved outside. Surveillance video shows Torres knocking Verdel’s friend to the ground and punching him several times. After another exchange of words, Torres turned to Alejo Verdel, punching him several times and  incapacitating him. Verdel fell to the ground, motionless, as Torres continued to punch him several more times.  Preliminary autopsy results indicate that Verdel died as a result of blunt force trauma. His death was ruled a homicide. Torres was identified through one of his associates seen with him in the surveillance video. A warrant for Torres’s arrest on a charge of second-degree murder was issued on Sunday (January 31). He was arrested in Flagler County with the assistance of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) and at the Flagler County Jail being held without bond.