Businesses along Belvedere Road shot at during deadly incident

July 29--WEST PALM BEACH

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After the car he was in collided with a parked car, 23-year-old Kerwin Jamar Richards took off running and ended up fatally shot along Belvedere Road, just west of Georgia Avenue, according to West Palm Beach Police.

The bullets from the incident left their mark -- and evidence of the shooting could be seen all over the block Sunday.

The shooting, which took place at about 1:40 a.m. Saturday, marked the 15th homicide within West Palm Beach city limits, according to a Palm Beach Post database.

Palm Beach Post homicides tracker

The Palm Beach Post homicides tracker records and remembers homicide victims from Palm Beach County

Richards attended Palm Beach Gardens High School, according to his friend Leslie Spence.

"This death really hit home for Palm Beach because he was a true role model to the community," Spence said.

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Juan Carlos Herran, the owner of Twisted Love Tattoos on Belvedere Road, came back to a bullet hole through his business's window.

The tattoo shop was one of a handful on the street that got hit with bullets.

Herran had been late at the store tattooing that evening, then went for dinner. When he came back, police tape was up.

"I just thought it was strip club beef or something," Herran said.

But then he saw the bullet hole and shattered glass. Had Herran been in the store, it's likely he would have been hit, he said. The bullet entered right by his easel and traveled diagonally to hit his iPad, which he uses when tattooing.

"I always have my references up on the iPad, so it's a serious handicap to my production," he said.

Though the window is still shattered, with packing tape on the inside covering the hole, Herran said the business is still open, and joked they all "wear Kevlar."

Another store, Executive Tag and Title Services, had a bullet hole in the upper right corner of the door.

Just a few doors down, another bullet went into America's Insurance. Floricela Roblero, an employee, was cleaning up glass for about 15 minutes before she realized where it was coming from. She initially looked skyward, trying to see if something had broken on the ceiling.

"I thought it was something like they tried to broke in," she said.

Richards' death is the 57th homicide this year in Palm Beach County, according to the Post database.

The area where Richards' body was found has been the site of a couple other homicide cases in the area in recent years -- Ivan Najera was killed on nearby Lake Avenue in November 2016 after a late-night argument inside Runway Cabaret, while Frank Fini's body was found behind Asian Accents just east of where Richards was found Saturday.

Detectives are actively working the scene and ask that anyone with information contact the West Palm Beach Police Department or call Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous at 800-458-TIPS.

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