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The teen accused of gunning down a Citadel cadet and his best friend racked up a rap sheet stretching back to 2021, authorities say, arguing he skated on charges again and again before the alleged double murder.
The DeLand Police Department in Florida said Dustin Rose, 19, and Samson Campbell, 18, were found dead at around 10:40 p.m. on July 29. Officials announced on Tuesday that an arrest warrant was obtained for a 17-year-old male, who was arrested on Wednesday by the U.S. Marshals Service.
During a Wednesday news conference, authorities said the three people "knew each other in some capacity," and said the teenager who was arrested has a "pretty good criminal history."
TEEN ARRESTED ON MURDER CHARGES AFTER CITADEL CADET AND CHILDHOOD FRIEND FOUND SHOT DEAD
Childhood friends Dustin Rose, left, and Samson Campbell, right, were fatally shot in a vacant Florida lot as police search for a suspect. (DeLand Police Department)
Rose attended The Citadel Military College of South Carolina and was home on break at the time. In a message to the campus community shared with Fox News Digital, The Citadel President Gen. Frank McKenzie described Rose as a "team leader and was a valued friend and classmate."
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said the 17-year-old, whom Fox News Digital is not naming because he has not yet been charged as an adult, has a lengthy criminal history that includes charges of assault with a deadly weapon, multiple counts of battery and drug possession.
"We're talking about aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, carrying a concealed weapon, multiple counts of battery, criminal mischief, vehicle theft, trespassing, drug possession, another aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, resisting an officer, all dating back to 2021," Chitwood said. "Charges that were either dropped, non-filed, dismissed, or at best, resolved with probation."
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Surveillance video shows Dustin Rose and Samson Campbell walking together on Tuesday evening, the day before they were found dead. (DeLand Police Department)
Chitwood alleged that the teen's ability to face little punishment is due to a lack of prosecution by the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Monique Worrell. He said that before the alleged double murder, the teen was in a diversion program for drug possession and disturbing a school function.
"It makes you wonder if our justice system held [the teen] accountable from the start, maybe things would have turned out different," the sheriff said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier also criticized Worrell, saying her "neglect of duty and incompetence are a danger to the 9th Judicial Circuit."
"Soft on crime policies do not work!" Uthmeier said.
Worrell said in a statement, "It is disappointing, but not surprising, that the appointed Attorney General continues to make politically motivated statements without knowing all the facts. Public safety deserves thoughtful leadership and not rhetoric designed to score political points."
CITADEL CADET, CHILDHOOD FRIEND GUNNED DOWN IN VACANT FLORIDA LOT AS POLICE LAUNCH MANHUNT
"The most recent case referenced by Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood that involves this juvenile did not occur within the Ninth Judicial Circuit, but rather his own Seventh Circuit and is therefore outside the jurisdiction of this office to speak to," Worrell said.
The teen faces two counts of second-degree murder in relation to the shooting, but R.J. Larizza, state attorney of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, said during a news conference he would likely be charged as an adult. The teen suspect's father was also arrested on charges of felony accessory after the fact.
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Rose was also a member of the South Carolina National Guard, a spokeswoman confirmed with Fox News Digital.
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Rachel Rose, Dustin's mother, said he was "such a light in our family."
Dustin Rose, 19, a Citadel cadet, was pursuing his childhood dream of serving in the military when he was killed. (GoFundMe)
CITADEL CADET, CHILDHOOD FRIEND GUNNED DOWN IN VACANT FLORIDA LOT AS POLICE LAUNCH MANHUNT
"When they took him they took the very best part of me. We are devastated," she told Fox News Digital.
One of the victims' mothers may have been among the family members who found the two dead after they went unreachable by phone, police previously said.
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Campbell, a DeLand native, had been staying with his aunt, Karen Chobin, in the Chicago area. Chobin said he was in town to grieve the recent death of the family's 8-year-old dog and was staying with Rose's grandparents.
Rose was in DeLand to help Campbell spread his dog's ashes, Chobin said.
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"It was a traumatic loss. It wasn't a passing of old age. It was awful. And then for this to be what he's welcomed with when he goes down there to mourn his loss is devastating," Chobin said.
Adam Sabes is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to Adam.Sabes@fox.com and on Twitter @asabes10.