Crime & Safety

Man Arrested In Connection With Homicide At Sarasota Apartment: Police

A man was arrested in connection with the early Sunday morning death of a woman at a Sarasota apartment, police said.

A man was arrested in connection with the early Sunday morning death of a woman at a Sarasota apartment, police said.
A man was arrested in connection with the early Sunday morning death of a woman at a Sarasota apartment, police said. (Courtesy of Sarasota Police Department)

SARASOTA, FL — A 32-year-old Sarasota man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman found unresponsive inside an apartment early Sunday morning, the Sarasota Police Department said in a news release.

Josue Zepeda-Urbina was arrested on Sunday and charged with murder and three counts of burglary of an occupied dwelling, police said.

He’s accused of entering an apartment without permission at the Applegate Apartments, 1500 N. Lockwood Ridge Road. Other people were there at the time he entered the apartment.

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Officers responded to reports of an unresponsive woman at the apartment around 4 a.m.

The victim was found inside an apartment and was pronounced dead by Sarasota County Fire Department personnel shortly after 4:30 a.m., police said.

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A witness familiar with both Zepeda-Urbina and the victim helped investigators identify him as a suspect.

The suspect and victim knew each other, police added.

Around 5 a.m., officers received an alert from the city's Flock automated license plate reader cameras about Zepeda-Urbina's vehicle, the department said. Officers stopped the vehicle near the intersection of Beneva Road and Fruitville Road and arrested him without incident.

He is being held at the Sarasota County Jail without bond.

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