St. Lucie County man charged with uncle’s murder; mother accused of false reports
COMING YOUR WAY IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. TODD. THANK YOU. CHRIS. WE ARE LEARNING MORE TONIGHT ABOUT A FORT PIERCE TEACHER WHO SHOT TO DEATH, FAMILY MEMBER WHO SHARED THESE PHOTOS OF THE VICTIM, 66 YEAR OLD ANDRE BARNES. WE FIRST TOLD YOU ABOUT THE SHOOTING ON ESSEX DRIVE AS BREAKING NEWS LAST NIGHT AT SIX. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS NOW IDENTIFIED THE SUSPECT AS DALE MINCEY, BUT THEY HAVE NOT SHARED A MOTIVE OR CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO MEN. OUR RACHAEL PERRY SPOKE TONIGHT WITH THE VICTIM’S FAMILY. SHE HAS MORE ON HOW HE’S BEING REMEMBERED, NOT JUST BY LOVED ONES, BUT BY SO MANY OTHERS WHOSE LIVES HE TOUCHED. AFTER THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE IDENTIFIED THE VICTIM AS ANDRE BARNES, WE QUICKLY LEARNED BARNES WAS AN ART TEACHER HERE IN SAINT LUCIE COUNTY. HIS FAMILY, FORMER STUDENTS, COLLEAGUES AND MORE ARE ALL NOW PROCESSING THIS TRAGEDY. IN A STATEMENT, A SPOKESPERSON FOR SAINT LUCIE PUBLIC SCHOOLS CONFIRMED ANDRE BARNES STARTED WITH THE DISTRICT IN 2017, WORKING AS AN ART TEACHER AT WESTGATE K THROUGH EIGHT SCHOOL AND THEN MOST RECENTLY AT SAMUEL S GAINES ACADEMY OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, WRITING, QUOTE, WE ARE SADDENED TO LEARN OF HIS PASSING AND EXTEND OUR HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY, FRIENDS, STUDENTS, COLLEAGUES AND ALL THOSE WHO KNEW HIM. BIG SMILE, JUST BIG SMILE. HE ALSO WAS AN ART TEACHER. I DO THIS FOR THE COMMUNITY AND HE ALREADY HAD HIS PENCILS AND PENS AND AND COLORS AND AND. ALL ALL HIS LITTLE ART SUPPLIES. JERMAINE O’NEAL MARRIED INTO THE FAMILY AND SAYS TO THEM, BARNES WAS KNOWN AS UNCLE ANDRE. IT’S JUST SAD THAT HE’S NO LONGER HERE, BUT READING EVERYTHING. THE COMMENTS, I SEE THAT HE WAS LOVED BY MANY. HE WAS APPRECIATED BY MANY. HE WAS. PEOPLE WERE ENCOURAGING. IT WAS JUST. IT WAS GOOD. HE WAS A GOOD PERSON. AS OFFICIALS WORK TO PIECE TOGETHER WHAT HAPPENED, NEAL ASKED THE COMMUNITY TO BE KIND AND REMEMBER BARNES FOR THE POSITIVE LIGHT. HE WAS. TO SO MANY. HE’S A BEACON OF LIGHT. HE’S AN ENCOURAGER. HE’S A MOTIVATOR. EVEN AS AN EDUCATOR AND A TEACHER. HE’S THAT OUTSIDE OF THAT ROLE. SO THAT’S WHAT MAKES HIM WHO HE WAS. AND HIS COLLEAGUES AND FORMER STUDENTS OF BARNES TELL ME, NOT ONLY WAS HE A GREAT ARTIST, BUT HE WAS A KIND SOUL. WE’LL CONTINUE FOLLOWING THIS INVESTIGATION AND UPDATE YOU
St. Lucie County man charged with uncle’s murder; mother accused of false reports
Updated: 5:14 PM EDT Jul 14, 2026
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office announced that Dale Mincey has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his uncle, Andre Barnes, while Mincey’s mother, Karen Moye, is accused of giving false information to law enforcement. Mincey is accused of shooting Barnes inside their Essex Drive home last week. Deputies found Barnes collapsed against the front door, and he later died at the hospital. Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsThe sheriff’s office said that when deputies arrived, Moye told them her son had just shot her brother. St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro Jr. said investigators are still working to determine a motive. “So we have not developed a motive yet. We’ve got some speculations on some things that we think might be involved. Obviously, a family-type dispute, but we don’t know the exact motive as of yet,” Del Toro said. Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.Moye, who is also Barnes’ sister, is charged with making false reports to law enforcement. Del Toro said she withheld important information but did not provide further details. According to the arrest report, Mincey told investigators he believed his uncle was trying to kill him and made several similar statements.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. —
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office announced that Dale Mincey has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of his uncle, Andre Barnes, while Mincey’s mother, Karen Moye, is accused of giving false information to law enforcement.
Mincey is accused of shooting Barnes inside their Essex Drive home last week. Deputies found Barnes collapsed against the front door, and he later died at the hospital.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
The sheriff’s office said that when deputies arrived, Moye told them her son had just shot her brother.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro Jr. said investigators are still working to determine a motive.
“So we have not developed a motive yet. We’ve got some speculations on some things that we think might be involved. Obviously, a family-type dispute, but we don’t know the exact motive as of yet,” Del Toro said.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Moye, who is also Barnes’ sister, is charged with making false reports to law enforcement. Del Toro said she withheld important information but did not provide further details.
According to the arrest report, Mincey told investigators he believed his uncle was trying to kill him and made several similar statements.