Newberry Teen Arrested In Fatal Shooting of Harley Van Leer

NEWBERRY – A 19-year-old Newberry man was arrested Sunday after a shooting that killed 44-year-old Harley Van Leer, according to the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies responded around 11:45 a.m. to the 25700 block of Northwest 7^th Place after reports of a shooting, the sheriff’s office said. They found Van Leer with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was transported to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, authorities said.

Deputies at the scene detained David Dwayne Martin Jr., 19, after he identified himself as the shooter, officials said. Martin was taken to the sheriff’s office for questioning.

According to an arrest report, Martin told investigators the firearm used was a 9mm Glock 19 Gen5 pistol with a laser-and-strobe-light attachment and an extended 17-round magazine. He said he had initially kept the gun hidden in a backpack while in a vehicle and then moved it to his pocket shortly before the shooting, the report said.

Martin also recounted that after the shooting, he fled to an area known as Triangle Park on Northwest 260th Street and gave the gun to someone there before returning to the scene, according to the report. A witness told deputies that a man matching Martin’s description ran to a grill near the witness’s home and placed something inside it, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators searched the grill and found a handgun matching the description Martin provided, authorities said.

At one point Martin claimed he had handed the gun to a friend — described as a tall white male with long hair — after the shooting, the sheriff’s office said. When deputies pressed him about the conflicting accounts of what happened to the weapon, Martin requested an attorney, according to authorities.

Martin has been charged with carrying a concealed firearm and tampering with evidence, officials said. The shooting death remains under investigation. Authorities noted that Martin has no prior local criminal record. Judge Luis Bustamante set Martin’s bail at $500,000.

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