Two Florida men boasted about killing an off-duty firefighter for his iPhone and Nike sneakers in 2019, according to a witness, who testified at the murder trial on Tuesday that one of the suspects “was smiling about it.”
Torrey Holston, 26, and Jose Garcia Romero, 27, were charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, and conspiracy in the killing of 39-year-old Coral Springs-Parkland firefighter Christopher Randazzo, according to a report by WPLG.
The men are accused of fatally shooting Randazzo in front of a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea resort after he left Aruba Beach Cafe — where he worked a second job as a bartender — at around 1:00 a.m. on October 19, 2019.
On Tuesday, Cheyenne Papach, the ex-girlfriend of Marco Rico — a third man connected to the case who previously pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact and conspiracy charges — told jurors what she saw on the night of the murder.
Papach testified that Holston — who had a gun that night — and Garcia Romero robbed Randazzo while she was having sex with Rico.
“I know Jose and Torrey were walking the streets while Marco and I were on the beach,” she said.
Papach added that when the four of them later returned to their car, Holston and Romero told her and Rico that they had robbed someone of his sneakers and phone.
She went on to testify that upon realizing the iPhone was locked, Holston demanded the group return to the scene of the crime so he could retrieve Randazzo’s password.
But when they arrived, the victim was lying on the ground and not fully coherent as Holston and Garcia Romero yelled at him for the password, Papach said, according to court records obtained by Law & Crime.
The witness then claimed that Holston fired his gun and killed Randazzo, and later declared, “I think I got him,” and “I saw him slumped over.”
She went on to testify that Holston seemed happy about the murder, and was gloating about it, recalling having heard him say, “I can’t believe I caught a body.”
“And he was smiling about it,” Papach told the jury on Tuesday.
While Holston — who allegedly referred to his gun as “my military weapon” — bragged about killing Randazzo, Garcia Romero seemed equally pleased, the witness added.
Papach also said that she heard Holston tell Garcia Romero, “We can rob him, and we can shoot him.”
A woman later found Randazzo “lying in front of the hotel” where he was killed, Law & Crime reported.
“My husband thinks he’s dead,” the woman told a 911 dispatcher, according to police.
Prosecutors told the court that the suspects had taken Randazzo’s Nike sneakers, iPhone, wallet with $55 inside, and car keys.
Both Holston and Garcia Romero face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.
The year before his murder, Randazzo had earned his firefighter certification and paramedic license from the Coral Springs Regional Institute of Public Safety, according to a report by NBC Miami.
He was hired by the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department in March 2019, just seven months before he was killed.
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
