Five days after two men were shot outside of the Band House bar and grill in Fort Lauderdale, one of them died in the hospital.
Jorge Andres Varona Suarez, 36, was initially arrested Wednesday on an attempted murder charge, which has now been upgraded to first-degree murder after Marcel Noel, 30, was pronounced dead Friday, Fort Lauderdale Police said.
Noel and a second man were found shot outside of the bar at 801 NE 62nd St. shortly after 7 a.m. Jan. 29. The names of both victims are redacted in the affidavit. On Monday, Fort Lauderdale Police identified the man who died as Noel, but they have not released the identity of the second man, who said he does not want to prosecute.
One of the men was shot in his right arm and face, a probable cause affidavit said. He was not in critical condition. The other man had surgery for a gunshot wound to his head and was in critical condition after surgery, the affidavit said.
A patron tried to break up two men who were fighting at Band House and heard gunshots outside once one of the unknown men walked outside, the affidavit said. The customer recognized the victims from his time working at Band House but did not know them. He tried to help them before paramedics arrived.
The bar’s DJ told detectives she saw part of the fight inside the business, where a man she knew as “Andres,” later identified as Varona Suarez, body-slammed one of the men near the bathroom, the affidavit said.
Surveillance video outside the bar showed Varona Suarez in a verbal argument, and he was then seen pulling a gun out of his jacket and shooting at the group of people, the affidavit said. He allegedly shot one of the men once in the head then shot the second man once, knocking him down, according to the affidavit.
The video then showed Varona Suarez standing over one of the victims on the ground and shooting him a second time at point-blank range, according to the affidavit.
The investigating detective learned that witnesses knew Varona Suarez to work at The Boardwalk night club at 1721 N. Andrews Ave. The business owner identified the alleged shooter as his employee Varona Suarez, the affidavit said.
Prosecutors in a motion requesting that Varona Suarez be held in jail ahead of trial said that the video clearly showed Varona Suarez shooting then men at close range, shooting one of them from less than a foot away in the middle of his forehead.
There is an active immigration hold on Varona Suarez due to the charges, according to the motion. He is a Canadian citizen originally from Cuba who last entered the country in January 2022 on a visitor visa, which he has overstayed, the motion said.
As of Monday afternoon, Varona Suarez remained in the Broward Main Jail. The public defender representing him did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Monday afternoon.
