Arrests made in Tavernier double murder

The murder of a Tavernier couple in their home on Cuba Road in October was drug related, according to investigations by the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit.

 Detective Vince Weiner, working closely with Chief Assistant State Attorney Manny Madruga, arrested two Upper Keys men Monday night in connection with the shooting deaths of 26 year old Tara Rosado and her boyfriend 30 year old Carlos Ortiz. The two were shot to death the night of October 15^th 2015 by 33 year old Jeremey Macauley of Tavernier. Macauley was assisted in the crime by 34 year old Adrian Demblans of Key Largo.

“This case involved meticulous investigation and tremendous teamwork by a large number of people,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay. “In particular, we worked closely on this with our partners at the State Attorney’s Office. This case was a tough one and our thoughts are with the families of the victims – especially Tara Rosado’s children who have been deprived of their mother. We are just glad we were able to bring closure to this case with the arrest of these two men.”

Jeremey Macauley

Investigations by Detective Weiner revealed in the summer of 2015, Ortiz was in the process of opening a tattoo business. Macauley was a financial partner in the business with Ortiz.

Adrian Demblans

Also in the summer of 2015, Macauley came into possession of a large amount of cocaine while fishing offshore of the Upper Keys. He distributed portions of the cocaine to Demblans and Ortiz.

At some point, Ortiz and Macauley had a disagreement concerning the tattoo business. Ortiz subsequently attempted to extort money from Macauley by threatening to expose his drug activities to authorities. Macauley told Demblans about the extortion attempts by Ortiz.

On October 15^th, Macauley and Demblans drove to the home on Cuba Road. Macauley, who was the passenger in the vehicle, exited the vehicle and met with Ortiz. He followed Ortiz into the residence, where he stayed for several minutes. Demblans, who was driving, remained outside. Macauley then exited the residence alone, got into the vehicle with Demblans and they left the area.

The following day, Rosado’s three small children woke and found the bodies of their mother and Ortiz shot to death in their bedroom. The children left the residence and told a neighbor, who called 911.

Detectives working on the case put together many pieces of information during the course of investigation, eventually leading to the identification of Macauley and Demblans as the men responsible for the murders. They found text messages and video on cell phones used by Ortiz which revealed his attempts to extort Macauley; they acquired video from surveillance cameras near the Cuba Road residence that showed Macauley and Demblans arrive at the home on Cuba Road the night of the murders. The gun used to shoot Rosado and Ortiz was recovered from the water near Ocean Bay Drive Bridge. A witness later identified the firearm as belonging to Macauley. An IPhone belonging to Ortiz was also recovered from the water in the same vicinity.

Macauley was charged Monday night with two counts of first degree murder; Demblans was charged with being an accessory to murder. Both men were booked into the Monroe County Detention Center.