WATCH ABOVE: Raw video shows Wednesday’s court proceeding where Wabafiyebazu plead not guilty to charges laid against him and also learned he will face a grand jury.
TORONTO – A Canadian diplomat’s son, allegedly involved in the drug-related shootout that killed his brother and another teenager, told investigators he and his older brother pulled similar robberies in the past, Miami police say.
Documents obtained by The Canadian Press stated Marc Wabafiyebazu went to the house near Coral Gables — a few minutes southwest of downtown Miami — with his brother Jean to steal drugs. While Marc waited outside in the car, the documents state, his brother got killed.
Police say in an arrest affidavit the 15-year-old told them he and his brother had done the same type of thing in both Canada and Miami.
Wabafiyebazu appeared in a South Florida courtroom Wednesday morning. Prosecutors said a grand jury would consider whether to bring formal felony murder or other charges against him. Under Florida law, any person who takes part in a violent felony in which someone dies can be charged with murder.
The 15-year-old’s attorney said Wabafiyebazu will plead not guilty to any charges filed. “We will be defending these charges,” Curt Obront told reporters.
Wabafiyebazu was arrested last week after the shooting deaths of his brother Jean, 17, and Joshua Wright, also 17.
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The brothers’ mother is Roxanne Dube, a long-time Canadian diplomat who recently became general consul in Miami.
Dube attended a brief court hearing for her son this morning but did not speak with reporters.
Last week, the consulate issued a statement expressing condolences to all involved.
“We also want to express our most sincere condolences to the family of Joshua Wright who have also lost their son and to all of those who have been so tragically affected in this unimaginable circumstance. Your grief is our grief.”
WATCH: The father of Jean and Marc Wabafiyebazu talks about the incident in Miami.
Police said the Wabafiyebazu brothers were involved in a marijuana drug deal when something went wrong. The alleged dealer, Anthony Rodriguez, 19, was wounded and faces murder charges.
Germano Wabafiyebazu, the boys’ father, told Global News he suspected his sons were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“I don’t know if the people who were selling took their money and didn’t want to deliver the marijuana or they wanted more money,” he said.
READ MORE: Why Consul General Roxanne Dubé’s son doesn’t have diplomatic immunity
The judge set an April 20 hearing date for the results of the grand jury’s work.
-with files from The Canadian Press
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