Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark announced on Friday, Nov. 15, that a Bronx man and a 15-year-old boy have been indicted for second-degree murder and additional charges in a robbery that took a man’s life.

“The defendants allegedly robbed a man inside an apartment building, and during it he was shot, allegedly by the teenage boy,” Clark said.  “We cannot become inured to the tragedy of children committing gun violence in our community.”

Clark said Francisco Deleon, 25, of Westchester Avenue, and the 15-year-old defendant were indicted on two counts of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter, two counts of first-degree robbery, two counts of second-degree robbery, and two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Prosecutors said Deleon was arraigned on Thursday, Nov. 14, before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Brenda Rivera and kept in custody. They said the teen defendant was arraigned by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Gayle Roberts in the Youth Part on Nov. 7, and was also kept in custody. They said both are due back in court in February 2025.

According to the investigation, on Oct. 16, at around 8:30 p.m., inside 671 Westchester Avenue in the Woodstock section of the South Bronx, the defendants acted in concert with each other and others in luring Ali Flores, 26, to the location where they robbed him of marijuana and cash.

During the struggle which took place during the course of the robbery, the 15-year-old allegedly shot Flores once in the torso, causing his death. Prosecutors said the assailants allegedly fled with victim’s property to an apartment in the same building. They said police arrested them inside the apartment after they obtained a search warrant where they also found the victim’s property. They said the incident was also captured on video.

The case is being prosecuted by Senior Homicide Counsel Morgan Dolan of the Bronx DA’s homicide bureau, under the supervision of Burim Namani, deputy chief of the homicide bureau, Christine Scaccia, chief of the homicide bureau, and under the overall supervision of James Brennan, deputy division chief of the trial division and Theresa Gottlieb, division chief of the trial division.

Clark thanked Major Case Assistant District Attorney Vittoria Fiorenza of the homicide bureau, Crime Victims Assistance Bureau Homicide Advocate Carina Diaz, and Video Unit Supervisor Joao D’Alessandro for their assistance in the case.

She also thanked NYPD Detective Patrick Flatley of the Bronx Homicide Squad, Detective Stephen Barry of the 40^th Precinct Detective Squad and members of the Police Service Area 7 Field Intelligence Office for their work in the investigation.

The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.