MIAMI — Two men were arrested this week in connection to a drive-by shooting that killed a man in South Miami Heights in November.
According to arrest documents, 20-year-old Tyshawn Sowells of South Carolina and 18-year-old Nazr Marquis Davis of North Carolina were charged with the murder and robbery of Esteban Arrufatt Jr. on Nov. 20, 2024.
Miami-Dade Corrections
The shooting
Just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 20, officers were called out to the area of 19331 SW 116th Ave. regarding a man being shot. According to Miami-Dade Police, that man – Arrufatt – was standing outside of a home when a vehicle drove by and shot him.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue took Arrufatt Jr. to Jackson Memorial South in critical condition, where he died from his injuries.
The investigation
Later on the day of the shooting, an autopsy report revealed that Arrufatt died from a gunshot wound to his lower abdomen and determined his death as a homicide.
While searching the scene, investigators found a gun that belonged to Arrufatt that was fully loaded and showed no signs of being fired, the arrest documents said. Investigators also found a spent 10mm casing and two projectiles, along with Arrufatt’s empty backpack.
Investigators then obtained surveillance video from the scene that caught the events before, during and after the shooting.
According to the arrest documents, the video showed a white Jeep Compass parked in front of Affuratt’s home, where after a brief verbal exchange, a voice can be heard saying “back up, back,” before driving away.
Affuratt then appeared to be surprised by the exchange and when the SUV passed by him, gunshots rang out and he screamed “Call an ambulance.”
Nearly an hour before the shooting, license plate readers in the immediate area revealed the SUV to have North Carolina plates and driving about a half-mile away from the scene. According to the arrest documents, the SUV was also revealed to be an Enterprise retail car from South Carolina.
Investigators were then searching Affuratt’s cellphone, which showed text messages between him and Sowells. According to the arrest documents, Sowells was allegedly asking to buy $1,050 worth of cannabis from Affuratt and asked for his location since he was leaving Miami on that Wednesday.
On Nov. 20 around 12:20 a.m., Sowells texted Affuratt that he had arrived at his home. Minutes later, Affuratt sent a CashApp payment request to Sowells; however, the payment was never made, the arrest documents said.
A Be-On-the-Lookout (BOLO) and FCIC/NICIC Felony Vehicle alert were issued for the SUV, where the vehicle was detained along with Sowells, Davis and several others in Volusia County by Edgewater Police. A search warrant by Edgewater Police officers revealed nearly 202 grams of cannabis inside of the SUV in packaging similar to bags that were promoted on Affuratt’s social media accounts, the arrest documents said.
In a post-Miranda interview, Sowells confirmed to police that he bought cannabis from Affurant when he arrived in Miami during the weekend before the shooting. According to the arrest documents, Sowells went to Affurant’s home to buy more cannabis from him and he was the driver of the SUV, traveling with Davis and another man, who were staying with him at their short-term rental in Miami.
According to the arrest documents, Sowells said Affuratt exited his home and approached the driver’s side rear window and spoke with Davis to whom he handed the cannabis. While talking with investigators, Sowells said that Davis and Affuratt got into an argument, and he noticed that Affuratt had a gun on him. As Sowells was counting the money, he allegedly heard Davis tell Affuratt to “stop clutching” to which he became nervous and drove off. Shortly after, he heard gunshots as he drove away from the scene, the arrest documents said.
At the end of the interview, Sowells told investigators where he and the other men were staying during their vacation, saying it was a rental property rented through a short-term vacation home company called “Evolve.”
On Nov. 27, investigators went to the rental property to retrieve surveillance video, which depicted Sowells, Davis and the third man arriving at the property around 1:30 a.m. – a half hour after the shooting. After returning from Affuratt’s home, Davis is seen exiting the left rear passenger seat and carrying a handgun with packages that matched the cannabis found during the warrant search. Sowells is also seen carrying the cannabis packages, the arrest documents said. Investigators also reviewed Sowells’ cellphone, which allegedly showed photos of Davis sitting across from him and taking pictures of the cannabis, and that he allegedly performed a Google search of “Miami shooting” after the robbery.
After further investigation, it was determined that Sowells and Davis were engaging in criminal activity, to which Miami-Dade Police issued a warrant for their arrest.
