Indian River County teenagers convicted of 2024 double murder enter Florida prison system
I’M TIFFANY KENNEY. WE’RE COMING ON THE AIR AS THE INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE ANNOUNCES AN ARREST IN YESTERDAY’S HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION. WE BROUGHT IT TO YOU AS BREAKING NEWS. LET’S LISTEN IN. UH, WE’RE HERE TODAY TO GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON A DOUBLE HOMICIDE THAT OCCURRED HERE IN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. SO WHEN I TALKED TO THE MEDIA YESTERDAY ABOUT THIS CASE, WE GAVE YOU THE INITIAL CALL AT 3:01 P.M. UH, IT’S JUST AFTER TWO NOW, SO WE’RE 23 HOURS INTO THIS CASE. UH, I KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WE WERE ACTUALLY ON THE SCENE AND WE TALKED ABOUT THE FIRST 48, HOW CRITICAL THAT IS. THERE’S EVEN A TV SHOW NAMED AFTER IT. WELL, HERE WE ARE, 23 HOURS LATER. UH, WE HAD OUR SUSPECT IN CUSTODY IN 12 HOURS. UH, IN 12 HOURS. WE HAD HIM IN CUSTODY. SO INCREDIBLE WORK BY OUR TEAM. UM, OUR FOLKS HAVE BEEN WORKING ALL NIGHT. UH, SOME OF THEM HAVE HAD VERY LITTLE SLEEP. AND THEY ARE HERE WITH US TODAY. UH, I KNOW THAT WE HAVE YOU HERE FOR ANOTHER PRESS CONFERENCE, WHICH WE’RE GOING TO DO SHORTLY AFTER THIS ONE. UH, AND I APPRECIATE YOU ALL BEING HERE EARLY TO, UH, TO DISCUSS THIS ONE. SO LET ME GIVE YOU THE RUNDOWN. WHEN I STOOD WITH YOU YESTERDAY AND I TOLD YOU, UH, THESE GUYS, WE KNOW THEY’RE NOT FROM HERE, RIGHT? I CAN’T DISCLOSE ALL OF THE INFORMATION AT THAT MOMENT. I CAN’T TELL YOU EVERYTHING I KNOW BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE NEXT OF KIN NOTIFICATION DONE. UH, AT THAT MOMENT, WE HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED THEM. BUT WHAT WE DID KNOW IN THAT THAT MOMENT WHEN I WAS STANDING WITH YOU. IS THAT THAT THE VEHICLE THAT WAS ON SCENE WAS REGISTERED TO A YOUNG MAN OUT OF MELBOURNE? UM, THAT YOUNG MAN WAS ONE OF OUR DECEASED PARTIES. AND SO WE HAVE SOME THINGS ON THE SLIDESHOW HERE. UH, HOPEFULLY THIS THING WORKS. IF THEY. HOW DO I GO? GO THIS WAY. UH, SO THESE ARE OUR TWO VICTIMS IN THIS CASE. UM, THE FAMILY WAS NOTIFIED, UH, LATE LAST NIGHT. UH, JOSEPH CARDELLA WAS THE REGISTERED OWNER OF THE VEHICLE. UH, IT WAS A CHRYSLER VEHICLE THAT WAS OUT THERE. UH, HIS BEST FRIEND, LOGAN THOMPSON, WAS THERE WITH HIM. THESE ARE THE TWO YOUNG MEN THAT WERE KILLED YESTERDAY. BOTH OF THESE YOUNG MEN ARE 19 YEARS OLD. THEY ARE BOTH FROM MELBOURNE. UM, ON THE SCENE, WE BELIEVE THAT, UH, BASED ON THE POSITION OF THE VEHICLE, THE VEHICLE WAS ACTUALLY NEXT TO A WOODED LOT. IT WAS JUST A PLAIN WOODED LOT. THERE WAS A HOUSE, UH, OF THE NEXT LOT OVER. UH, MR. CARDELLA APPEARED AS THOUGH HE WAS RUNNING AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE, AND HE COLLAPSED IN THE YARD, UH, WHERE HE ULTIMATELY PASSED AWAY. UH, MR. THOMPSON WAS DECEASED IN FRONT OF THE VEHICLE NEAR THE ROADWAY, RIGHT ON THE ROADWAY. UM, VERY TRAGIC SITUATION OUT THERE. AND SO WE’RE STANDING THERE WITH THESE TWO YOUNG MEN FROM MELBOURNE, UH, WITH NOT MUCH INFORMATION. AND I’LL TELL YOU THE THE KEY FACTOR, WHICH ARE OBVIOUSLY OUR LICENSE PLATE READER SYSTEM IS A HUGE ITEM IN THIS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO KNOW AT THAT MOMENT, THESE GUYS HADN’T BEEN IN ANY RIVER COUNTY BEFORE. THEY JUST SHOWED UP TODAY. WE KNEW AT 230 THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME THAT THEY HAD ENTERED INDIAN RIVER COUNTY. UH, AT 3:00 THEY WERE THERE DEAD ON THE GROUND. SO WE KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING ON. THERE WAS MONEY. SCATTERED ABOUT, UH, WHICH LED US TO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS POSSIBLY DRUG RELATED. SO, UH, SHORTLY THEREAFTER, A BRAVE YOUNG MAN CAME FORWARD. HIS FAMILY BROUGHT HIM FORWARD AND SAID HE CAME HOME. HE WAS VERY STRESSED ABOUT WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED. AND, UH, HE WANTS TO TALK TO YOU. AND SO OUR WITNESS CAME FORWARD TO OUR DETECTIVES, UH, OUR WITNESS WAS PRESENT WHEN ALL OF THIS OCCURRED. UH, OUR WITNESS LED US WITHIN A VERY SHORT TIME PERIOD. SHOWED US A MAP OF WHERE THE GUN WAS AT. UH, WE HAVE A DRUG DOG HERE IN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY FOR OUR SCHOOLS. WE BROUGHT OUT OUR DRUG DOG, PUT THE DOG ON THE GROUND WITHIN TWO MINUTES, THE GUN WAS LOCATED. THAT WAS INVOLVED IN THIS FROM WHEN THE DOG HIT THE GROUND UNTIL THE GUN WAS FOUND. WAS ABOUT TWO MINUTES. UH, IT IS. I HAVE A PHOTO OF THE GUN, WHICH I’LL SHOW YOU IN THE SLIDESHOW. IT’S A HANDGUN. NINE MILLIMETER HANDGUN WITH AN EXTENDED MAGAZINE GUN. UM, WE KNOW THAT MANY ROUNDS WERE FIRED OUT THERE. WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS NO WEAPON FOUND ON EITHER ONE OF THESE GUYS. THERE’S NO WEAPON IN THE CAR. THERE’S NO WEAPON ON ANY OF THEM. OUR WITNESS TELLS US THAT HE TRAVELED WITH OUR SUSPECT OUT. JAIME MOSQUEDA. HE IS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUVENILE JUSTICE CUSTODY NOW. HE IS 17 YEARS OLD. THAT HE TRAVELED WITH MOSCOW DOE TO MEET THESE GUYS FROM MELBOURNE TO BUY 1300 THC VAPE PENS. THAT’S WHAT THIS IS. OVER 1300 THC VAPE PENS FOR APPROXIMATELY $3,000. NOW THE KICKER IS THERE’S ONLY ABOUT $1,000 ON THE GROUND OUT THERE. UM, THIS GUY SHOWS UP WITH HIS GUN AT AND AT SOME POINT STARTS FIRING OFF ROUNDS. HE EVENTUALLY TELLS HIS FAMILY THAT IT WAS IN SELF DEFENSE. NOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE’S NO WEAPONS ON EITHER ONE OF OUR VICTIMS IN THIS CASE, UH, THERE’S NO WEAPONS LOCATED. UM, OUR VICTIM SAYS THAT HE SAW NO WEAPONS. THERE WAS NO ALLEGATION THAT THERE WAS ANY WEAPONS. HE JUST KNOWS THAT THIS GUY STARTED FIRING AT THESE TWO GUYS, AND THEY TOOK FLIGHT WHEN THEY LEFT. YOU’RE LISTENING TO SHERIFF ERIC FLOWERS WITH THE INDIAN RIVER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE ANNOUNCING AN ARREST AND THE DEATHS OF 219 YEAR OLDS LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER THE CRIME WAS COMMITTED. YESTERDAY IN VERO BEACH. THEY HAVE ARRESTED 17 YEAR OLD JAIME MEZQUIA. UH, HE IS CHARGED NOW WITH THE DEATHS OF 19 YEAR OLD JOSEPH CARDELLA AND LOGAN THOMPSON, BOTH TEENAGERS FROM THE MELBOURNE AREA. POLICE SAY DETECTIVES SAY THEY WERE THERE TO BUY 1300 THC VAPE PENS AGAIN. BOTH 19 YEAR OLDS FROM MELBOURNE ARE DEAD. A 17 YEAR OL
Indian River County teenagers convicted of 2024 double murder enter Florida prison system
Updated: 9:05 PM EST Jan 22, 2026
Video above: 17-year-old arrested in double homicide in Indian River CountyTwo Indian River County teenagers who were convicted of killing two other teenagers from Brevard County have entered the Florida Department of Corrections as inmates.According to department of corrections records, John M. Govea, 18, from Vero Beach and Jaime C. Mosqueda, 19, from Fellsmere, are in the custody of the Florida prison system.Govea was received on Jan 9., while Mosqueda was received on Jan. 15. Govea is being held at the Suwannee Correctional Institution in Live Oak, while Mosqueda is being held at the Central Florida Reception Center in Orlando.Govea pleaded no contest to two counts of third-degree murder with a weapon or firearm, two counts of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm or ammunition after being found delinquent.Govea was designated a youthful offender and was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2025, to four years in state prison with time served credit of 634 days.Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsMosqueda pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2025, to two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.Mosqueda was sentenced to 40 years in prison, credited with 649 days of time served, 10 years of probation and court fees.Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.Mosqueda and Govea were suspects in the shooting deaths of Joseph M. Cardella, 19, of Melbourne, and Logan J. Thompson, 19, of Palm Bay during a transaction of THC vape pens in the Vero Lake Estates Community on March 11, 2024.Mosqueda was the gunman in the shootings, while Govea drove the getaway vehicle with Mosqueda. Although Mosqueda claimed self-defense, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office was not able to find weapons on the victims, while Govea told detectives he did not see the victims with weapons.
Video above: 17-year-old arrested in double homicide in Indian River County
Two Indian River County teenagers who were convicted of killing two other teenagers from Brevard County have entered the Florida Department of Corrections as inmates.
According to department of corrections records, John M. Govea, 18, from Vero Beach and Jaime C. Mosqueda, 19, from Fellsmere, are in the custody of the Florida prison system.
Govea was received on Jan 9., while Mosqueda was received on Jan. 15.
Florida Department of Corrections
Left: Jaime C. Mosqueda; Right: John M. Govea
Govea is being held at the Suwannee Correctional Institution in Live Oak, while Mosqueda is being held at the Central Florida Reception Center in Orlando.
Govea pleaded no contest to two counts of third-degree murder with a weapon or firearm, two counts of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm or ammunition after being found delinquent.
Govea was designated a youthful offender and was sentenced on Dec. 19, 2025, to four years in state prison with time served credit of 634 days.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
Mosqueda pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2025, to two counts of first-degree murder with a firearm, two counts of robbery with a deadly weapon and tampering with evidence.
Mosqueda was sentenced to 40 years in prison, credited with 649 days of time served, 10 years of probation and court fees.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Mosqueda and Govea were suspects in the shooting deaths of Joseph M. Cardella, 19, of Melbourne, and Logan J. Thompson, 19, of Palm Bay during a transaction of THC vape pens in the Vero Lake Estates Community on March 11, 2024.
Mosqueda was the gunman in the shootings, while Govea drove the getaway vehicle with Mosqueda.
Although Mosqueda claimed self-defense, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office was not able to find weapons on the victims, while Govea told detectives he did not see the victims with weapons.