{"id":369564,"date":"2026-08-12T17:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/369564\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T17:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T17:44:09","slug":"orlando-man-denied-bond-after-child-fatally-shot-at-apartment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/369564\/","title":{"rendered":"Orlando man denied bond after child fatally shot at apartment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orlando man denied bond after 4-year-old boy fatally shot at apartment complex<\/p>\n

\"Bob<\/a>ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014<\/p>\n

An Orlando judge has ruled that 18-year-old Brandon McCloud will remain in jail without bond as he faces a manslaughter charge in the fatal shooting of 4-year-old Kayden Pearson at the Stella West Apartments on Silver Star Road last month. <\/p>\n

In court, McCloud\u2019s lawyer argued that prosecutors cannot prove he had the gun, but the judge determined that McCloud\u2019s actions after the shooting were sufficient to deny bond. <\/p>\n

Prosecutors presented body-camera footage showing the moments after the shooting, though some of the more difficult parts, including attempts to help Kayden, were not shown. Investigators said McCloud and his girlfriend had returned to a unit at the apartment complex, and minutes later, Kayden was shot in the chest. <\/p>\n

McCloud\u2019s girlfriend told investigators that they had just sat down on a bed, with Kayden a few feet away, when she heard a gunshot. <\/p>\n

In court, prosecutors showed photos, including one of a bullet casing found in a trash can. A detective testified that McCloud gave his cellphone to someone else and encouraged his girlfriend to leave the scene. <\/p>\n

Investigators also said McCloud\u2019s internet search history showed he looked up \u201chow to get gunpowder off you\u201d before first responders arrived. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn minutes of this child being shot, this defendant\u2019s thought process did not go to rendering aid or trying to save the child\u2019s life but trying to alter and disrupt the scene,\u201d prosecutors said. <\/p>\n

Investigators added that McCloud ran away when they attempted to collect a DNA sample from him days later. <\/p>\n

Authorities have not stated whether the shooting was intentional or explained how it occurred, but investigators do not believe Kayden fired the gun himself. The weapon was not recovered at the scene. <\/p>\n

The judge ruled that McCloud\u2019s actions after the shooting justify holding him in jail without bond until his trial.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Orlando man denied bond after 4-year-old boy fatally shot at apartment complex ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 An Orlando judge…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369565,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-369564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}