A man is facing felony charges related to the shooting death of a Port St. Lucie man last year.
Port St. Lucie police with assistance of the United States Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Hunter Thomas Boesch, 20, Wednesday.
Boesch is charged with first-degree felony murder, attempted robbery with a firearm and conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm.
The charges are related to the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Beau Hartman on Feb. 16, 2016.
Hartman arrived at a friend’s residence after a night at work and heard a knock at the front door. Police say one of the five occupants of the house looked out of the front window and saw a man with his face concealed at the front of the house.
Hartman and another occupant went outside to investigate. As Hartman headed around the driveway, he was met by a suspect who shot him in the abdomen.
Hartman was flown to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Hartman’s loved ones, including his three siblings, say they’ve been counting down the days to when they would get good news in the case.
This arrest is what they have been hoping for.
“We’re getting a little step closer to justice, you know?” said Hartman’s sister, Casey Jo Hartman Blaszka.
Blaszka says Beau did not know Boesch. She also says she wants to know who Boesch was with the night of the shooting.
“I don’t want him to get away with it. Anybody that was involved with this, I don’t want them to get away with it,” said Blaszka.
Boesch was already in jail on unrelated charges when he was arrested. The court has sealed his arrest warrant in this case, saying releasing it would harm the ongoing criminal investigation.
The family feels their efforts to rally to keep pressure on investigators helped lead to this arrest.
“Happy, excited, angry. A lot of emotions all over again,” Blaszka said
“It’s a start. It’s definitely a start,” said Hartman’s brother, Daren Hartman.
Above all, it is giving them hope that the case will ultimately be solved and closed.
“It opens our eyes that the detectives and the marshals and everybody are doing their job because I was really losing hope,” said Daren Hartman.
Port St. Lucie police are still asking anyone with information about the case to come forward and call the Port St. Lucie Police Department at 772.871.5001 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273 TIPS.
