By A celebration turned deadly in the early hours of January 21 when authorities in Florida responded to multiple 911 calls reporting 10 to 15 gunshots and people screaming for help. Upon arrival, they found 31-year-old Steven Jesus Perez on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds and a minimal pulse. He was pronounced dead within the hour.
The tragic incident occurred during a woman’s 30th birthday party, where her cousin’s husband, Maximo Mercado Jr. (nicknamed “Max/Banger”), had invited friends. According to a detective’s affidavit for an arrest warrant, Perez had approached the guest of honor earlier, expressing his unease about the guests and his belief that they had brought guns.
As the party progressed, an altercation ensued outside the home, resulting in gunshots. Mercado and several others fled the scene in a black Cadillac Escalade, which was later located by Osceola County’s aviation unit pulling into Mercado’s driveway. Two subjects were observed running to a nearby pond and throwing items into it, including a black pistol later identified as the one used by both Perez and Mercado during the shootout.
Interviews with those involved revealed a chaotic scene. Mercado’s wife claimed that Perez had followed them outside, yelling at another man who had made advances toward the birthday guest of honor. She attempted to calm Perez down but was struck by an unknown person from behind. Perez then shot a round, hitting her right knee. She heard multiple gunshots before running back to the Cadillac, not remembering anything after that point until waking up at home.
Mercado himself recalled Steven becoming angry and getting into a physical altercation with the other man. He claimed that after Perez shot his wife, he picked up a black gun from the floor and began shooting towards Perez to get his wife to safety. Mercado initially said he threw the gun into the grass but later admitted to taking it home, where it was eventually thrown into the pond behind his residence.
Mercado was initially arrested and charged with premeditated murder but bonded out days later after his public defender argued that the state did not meet its burden to hold him without bond. However, on May 29, he was arrested again in Lake County and charged with second-degree murder with a firearm, two counts of shooting into a building, and tampering with physical evidence. Mercado was returned to Osceola County on June 3 and is currently being held without bond.
The tragic incident serves as a stark reminder of how quickly a celebration can turn into a nightmare, leaving families devastated and lives forever changed.
