WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — When Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Clinton Shannon announced the arrests of two suspects in last week's shooting at the Gardens Mall, he made a point to share that both suspects had lengthy felony records.
"These are some very, very violent individuals that are walking freely amongst us," Shannon told reporters during a Tuesday news conference.
Court records for Devon Graham and Kemarcio Mitchell stretch back to both of their childhoods and include plea deals, dropped charges and even an acquittal.
WATCH: Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Clinton Shannon announces arrests in Gardens Mall shooting
Graham is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. More charges could come soon, Shannon said, as Graham is accused of shooting Mitchell in the middle of the mall Feb. 14.
Graham refused to show up for his first appearance before a Palm Beach County judge Wednesday morning. He is now being held on no bond, and his first appearance was pushed back 30 days.
"Graham has been charged with 30 felony charges, has six felony convictions and one incarceration," Shannon said Tuesday.
According to Shannon, Graham's criminal record dates back to 2011 when he was 16 years old.
Available court records available in Palm Beach County begin in 2013 when Graham was convicted of grand theft of a vehicle. He was sentenced to time served and walked free in 2014.
In 2017, Graham was arrested in connection to a non-deadly shooting near a Riviera Beach day care. Charges included two counts of aggravated assault with a firearm, which prosecutors eventually dropped.
"Although there was probable cause to make an arrest, the evidence … is insufficient to support a prosecution," reads the document obtained by WPTV from the state attorney's office.
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"One of the factors (in that case) is that we were unable to reach a victim," Marc Freeman, a spokesman for Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, said.
Aronberg declined to comment on this story due to the pending case against Graham connected to the mall shooting.
Graham was arrested in 2018 on drugs and weapons charges. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges and spent a month in jail, according to court records.
A 2020 forgery case got Graham three years probation, which records show he violated in 2022. Court records show he spent 20 days in jail.
Mitchell, who was shot at the mall, is facing federal weapons charges for allegedly carrying a gun as a convicted felon. Shannon believes Mitchell instigated the confrontation with Graham and that the two knew each other.
Mitchell is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on March 5.
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"Some of the most notable crimes (Mitchell) has been charged with are first-degree homicide in 2011, homicide in 2013, armed robbery, grand theft," Shannon said Tuesday.
Palm Beach County court records do not show a 2011 homicide charge against Mitchell, but he was charged that year with attempted murder. He was 15 years old at the time.
Mitchell pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of battery and was sentenced to probation, which according to documents, he violated in 2013 when he brought a gun to school. That led to a 28-month prison sentence.
Mitchell was charged with murder in 2015 but was found not guilty by a jury.
Numerous felony charges were filed against Mitchell between 2018 and 2020, including grand theft auto, as well as drug and weapon charges. Prosecutors eventually dropped the felony charges, but some of the cases resulted in misdemeanor convictions.
A 2020 drug trafficking case sent Mitchell to prison on a four-year sentence in 2021 with credit for more than a year served. Court documents show Mitchell was required to serve a minimum of three years.
Shannon declined to comment beyond the remarks he made at Tuesday's news conference.
