Photo Courtesy of PBCSD and Facebook
The goofy phenomenon known as the Island Boys were unknowingly abetting a suspected killer when their Coral Springs home was raided by SWAT on Monday.
According to WPBF, Andrew James Thomas, 20, was arrested for the shooting death of eight-year-old Ronziyah Atkins. Franky and Alex Venegas, the brothers who make up the Island Boys, were not implicated in the ongoing investigation.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office acquired a search warrant for the home after Andrew was named as the shooter by witnesses and gang unit detectives.
Alex, 20, revealed that he broke down after finding out his childhood friend was wanted for first-degree murder.
The news outlet reported that Andrew had a prior record from a 2019 conviction for armed robbery. He was given six years probation. The troubled young man is now facing first-degree murder and possession of a weapon by a felon.
The duo’s manager Dovi Bezner also told WPBF that Andrew stayed at their Coral Spring’s home for two days. They reportedly “had no idea any of this was going on.”
“We just knew him as a quiet kid, and he would come and hang out and do his thing and go back to whatever he got going on, but we had no clue about any of these allegations toward him,” Dovi explained. “We just knew him as a good person, someone who grew up with the Island Boys.”
Ronziyah was killed in a drive-by shooting on Friday night as she stood outside near her front porch. Police do not believe that Ronziyah, affectionately known as Ziyah, was the intended target.
The little girl’s death shocked the community, her family and schoolmates at Gove Elementary. The Palm Beach Post reported that counselors would be available at the school for grief counseling.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office offered a $25,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the shooter’s capture.
“Hopefully, someone will realize that with a heinous crime like this, they need to come forward,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Teri Barbera said Sunday.
After releasing a viral song with the same name, the Island Boys became popular. The tune took TikTok by storm, and the rest is history.
Alex and Franky grew up in South Florida and were raised by a single mother after their father died when they were six years old. The two expressed that they weren’t always on a straight and narrow path. Both brothers have been in trouble for burglaries, stealing cars and robbing people. Franky claims that he has sold drugs in the past.
They are reportedly worth $100,000.