Pair charged in deadly Leesburg park shooting

Inside Scoop, Leesburg, Unincorporated Lake | By Marilyn M. Aciego | March 2, 2026 | Florida, Lake County, Leesburg, Shooting | 1 minute of reading

LEESBURG, Fla.— The two persons of interest in the murder of a Grand Island teen have been formally charged, according to Leesburg Police Department.

D’Yuntre Wright has been charged with second degree murder and James Fenderson IV has been charged with principle to murder in the third degree and unlawful possession of a firearm by a delinquent, in the death of Juan Gomez Jr., LPD Lt. Shannon Walsh said.

Gomez Jr., 18, of Grand Island, was found dead shortly before 1 p.m. Dec. 14, 2025 in a vehicle at Berry Park, 2121 Johns Avenue, after LPD responded to a report of a shooting victim, LPD Chief Joe Iozzi said in December.

After the murder, LPD quickly identified Wright and Fenderson IV as “persons of interest.” The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force took Fenderson IV and Wright into custody in separate incidents in February.

Juan Gomez Jr.

Details remain limited, and authorities have not said what may have led to the shooting. Wright and Fenderson IV are being held on no bond.

About The Author

Marilyn M. Aciego

Publisher Marilyn M. Aciego was born and raised in Lake County and is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She began her journalism career at LSSC and in 2023 she was honored with LSSC’s Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award. She began working at the Daily Commercial while she was in college and continued her career there as a reporter after she graduated. In her 20+ year-career, she covered many of the area’s top stories including the disappearance of Trenton Duckett and the death of beloved Sheriff Chris Daniels. She has landed many exclusive interviews and was the first to break two of the biggest stories of 2024- the death of Jamaria Sessions and the murder of a Lake County Sheriff's Office deputy and the attempted murder of two other deputies. In addition to Inside Lake, Marilyn is the single mom of a teenaged son and the Florida Bureau Chief for an international media organization.