Man accused of a deadly Florida shooting and robbery is arrested in Lexington, police say
A murder suspect out of Cape Coral, Fla., was arrested in Lexington last week.
Eduardo Troche-Rodriguez, 31, was booked into the Fayette County Detention Center Friday evening for a murder charge he’s facing in Lee County, Florida, according to jail records.
Cape Coral Police Chief Anthony Sizemore held a press conference Tuesday morning to announce the arrest of Troche-Rodriguez. He is one of two suspects accused of killing 41-year-old Fernando Batista Montero.
The early-morning deadly shooting happened last June, according to Sizemore. Responding police officers found Montero dead with gunshot wounds in the driveway of a home.
Police developed two suspects in the case, one being Troche-Rodriguez and the other being 21-year-old Jose Maldonado of Lexington. Maldonado was arrested last July, police said.
“Both of these suspects, we later learned, came down to Cape Coral specifically for this incident,” Sizemore said. “They executed our victim, robbed him and immediately fled, not only Cape Coral but the state of Florida.”
Sizemore said “a significant amount of money” was taken from Montero, though he didn’t specify how much. He said the suspects immediately fled Florida after the incident. Sizemore said he couldn’t share details on the relationship between the victim and the suspects due to a pending court case.
Detectives got a big break in the case last week when they learned the whereabouts of Troche-Rodriguez in Lexington, Sizemore said. Two Cape Coral detectives flew to Lexington and worked with the Lexington Police Department to ultimately arrest Troche-Rodriguez.
“There was still very difficult, pain-staking, threading of a needle if you will, to get the probable cause that we needed,” Sizemore said. “But the talent of this team behind me came through, just like the community would expect them to.”
Troche-Rodriguez remains lodged at the Fayette County Detention Center, awaiting extradition to Florida, according to jail records and comments from Sizemore.
“I would like to thank the Lexington Police Department for their assistance and their warm welcome for our detectives to be able to go there and make the second arrest,” Sizemore said.
Montero was a father of two daughters, according to NBC2 in Fort Meyers, Fla. A neighbor’s surveillance camera captured the shooting, according to NBC2.
This story was originally published March 15, 2023 at 8:09 AM.
