Pair killed man while wearing GPS monitors, police say

Investigators say satellite data placed suspects at scene of shooting

Ricardo Rodrigo Jr. and Arthur Washington

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ Two Fort Lauderdale men were arrested this month after police said they shot and killed a man while wearing GPS monitoring devices.Ā 

Arthur Washington III, 22, andĀ Ricardo Rodrigo Jr., 25, face a chargeĀ of first-degree murder and several probation violation. Washington was on probation for drug charges while Rodrigo was being monitored while on probation for grand theft.

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Police said 22-year-old Widell Everett was shot and killed on Feb. 17 in the 1000 block of Northwest Fifth Avenue. Shortly after the shooting police received an anonymous tip that Washington and Rodrigo were involved in Everett's death, according to court documents.

A witness also contacted police, saying he saw Washington and Rodrigo forcably leading Everett into an alley just beforeĀ the shooting, the documents said.

The victim's father said he was approached by Rodrigo on Feb. 27 as he was making funeral arrangements for his son. Widell Everett Sr. said he confronted Rodrigo, saying he knew Rodrigo killed his son. However, Rodrigo denied being involved, saying he was in Hallandale Beach at the time of the murder, the records said. He pointed to his GPS monitoring device as evidence that he was not involved, the documents said.

The Broward County Sheriff's Office contacted BI Inc., the company that maintains the GPS monitoring devices and began to pull records related toĀ Washington and Rodrigo. The records found that Washington and Rodrigo's devices were in the area ofĀ the 1000 block of Northwest Fifth Avenue during the time of the shooting.

The company estimated the margin of error for the device is about 100 feet. During the time of the shooting, the devices were sending signals to an average of nine satellites, making the accuracy very high, the company said.

BothĀ Washington and Rodrigo are currently being held on withoutĀ bond at Broward County's Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale.

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