FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) — A Fort Pierce man was arrested Saturday, four days after investigators say he shot and killed a beloved St. Lucie County art teacher.
Deputies with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office say 41-year-old Dale Andrew Mincey of Fort Pierce was booked on counts of first-degree premeditated murder in connection with the teacher, 66-year-old Andre Leonard Barnes.
Investigators say Mincey shot Barnes with a rifle at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday at a home in the 2700 block of Essex Drive before being taken into custody at the scene. St Lucie County Fire District crews arrived shortly after and rendered aid to Barnes before taking him to the hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
The sheriff’s office previously identified Mincey as the suspected shooter. It said he was initially being held on active Broward County felony warrants for dealing in stolen property and false verification to a pawn broker. At the same time, detectives worked with the State Attorney’s Office to determine whether additional charges were warranted.
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Barnes had reportedly been an art teacher with St. Lucie Public Schools since 2017 and recently taught at Samuel S. Gaines Academy of Emerging Technologies.
Investigators have not released a motive or confirmed the relationship, if any, between the two.
The homicide investigation remains active. Anyone with information is asked to contact the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at (772) 462-7300.