Kevin Espinal, a 22-year-old Hispanic male, was pronounced dead at Florida Hospital Apopka on December 27, 2015, following a violent confrontation at a house on Mason Drive in Apopka, Florida. Espinal sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head during an attempted robbery. The incident occurred around 4 a.m. when Espinal and his friend, Phuc M. Nguyen, 19, along with other accomplices, went to the house intending to retrieve an item that had been stolen from them the previous day.
The group surrounded the house and confronted the man inside, leading to a heated argument. While three of the men left, Nguyen fired shots into the house, prompting someone inside to return fire. Espinal and Nguyen then fled in a gray Camaro, continuing to shoot at the house as they drove away.
The investigation revealed that Espinal and Nguyen were attempting to recover stolen money. Nguyen, who had guns, was contacted by Espinal and others on December 26, 2015, to assist in the robbery. The plan was for Nguyen, Espinal, and another individual to enter the house and retrieve the stolen money, while a fourth person waited in a nearby car. During the confrontation, gunshots were exchanged, and Espinal was struck in the head. Nguyen drove away, still firing shots, and later attempted to clean the blood from his car and dispose of the gun. Espinal's brothers eventually took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Phuc Nguyen was arrested and charged with attempted murder, shooting into a dwelling, and tampering with physical evidence. He later pled no contest to charges of second-degree felony murder and shooting from a vehicle, receiving a 20-year prison sentence. The man who fired the fatal shot that killed Espinal was not charged, as he acted in self-defense during the attempted robbery. The case remains a tragic example of how a series of poor decisions and violent actions led to the untimely death of a young man.
