Second arrest for murder of suspected Lake Worth Beach brothel owner

LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A Broward County man is facing murder charges after he was arrested in the killing of the alleged owner of a Lake Worth Beach brothel.

According to jail records, Spencer Privert was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail late Thursday night on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm and armed burglary. His arrest came after a 14-year-old boy was charged with similar charges. A third unidentified suspect was also listed in the affidavit against Privert and the child.

Both Privert and the teenager were taken into custody on September 11, five days after the shooting, when they left the home where Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO) investigators determined the three were staying. The affidavit states that Privert, who is listed as a transient, was one of the people the teenage suspect reportedly began fleeing with after he no longer had a place to stay due to his situation at home.

The day after the shooting, officers located the car allegedly driven by the three suspects the night before and spoke with the driver, a woman who claimed she had driven it from two men named “Run Flat” and ” Spence” rented. The woman later revealed that “Spence,” Spencer Privert, was her drug dealer and that she spoke to him daily.

She further told investigators that she had known “Spence” for seven months and had met two men he always hung out with. She said she had seen the teen hanging out with “Spence” every day for the past few months. She noticed that the boy told her one night that his father had abused him and that was why he was on the streets. She also explained that he hangs out with the two men because he thinks they're cool.

Suspected brothel owner killed

Privert and the boy are accused of killing Marco Rubi Escobar the night of Sept. 5 at a home on Melaleuca Lane in Lake Worth Beach. Officials reported Rubi Escobar was found dead on the floor of the home after suffering multiple gunshot wounds and surrounded by several empty bullet casings.

Additionally, investigators said they found a 23-year-old man in the area suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg who admitted in an interview that he was at the brothel at the time of the murder. According to PBSO, he stated he saw a young Hispanic man enter the apartment and minutes later heard the victim screaming “NO, NO, NO,” followed by gunfire as he fled the brothel.

Upon examining the home, officers reported that the door to the back of the house was broken and had a bullet hole in it and a trail of blood through the backyard.

The probable cause affidavit stated that PBSO determined through conversations with neighbors that the home was a brothel or prostitution place.

Surveillance camera already enlarged

Neighbors told investigators they saw two black men outside the home wearing masks, one of whom was armed with a handgun. The report said they also told investigators they saw a white Toyota that disappeared after they heard the shots.

Because the home was a known location for prostitution and criminal activity, PBSO stated that a surveillance camera had already zoomed in on the home at the time of the murder.

According to officers, surveillance footage showed a Chrysler 300 driving up to the brothel with several people in it.

Three people were seen exiting the car, one of whom was a Hispanic teenager who was later identified as a 14-year-old boy. The report states that the teen was seen exiting the car with a handgun and a phone in his hand. The footage then shows him approaching the brothel, hiding the gun under his shirt, and looking through the windows while talking on the phone.

The teen then entered the brothel, the video showed. About a minute later, the other two men exit the car and duck near the cars parked in front of the brothel. According to PBSO, one of them is carrying a Draco rifle.

See also: Teen charged as an adult in grandmother's death after phone argument

The footage showed that about ten minutes after entering the brothel, the teenager fled the apartment while the other two men entered. About three minutes later, the two men are seen running from the brothel back into their car and fleeing the scene.

After a search warrant, PBSO declared the apartment a three-bedroom brothel with only beds in it and numerous used condoms in trash bags in each room. They also found several bullet casings which they confirmed were from a Draco pistol.

On Sept. 7, investigators began an interview with the man who owns the Toyota that was at the brothel at the time of the shooting. The man stated that he frequently visits the brothel and requests services from the sex workers there. He stated that while he was at the brothel, he saw two masked black men enter the house armed with a rifle and a handgun. The report said he was lying on the couch when he heard gunshots and the gunman yelled “GO, GO, GO, GO.”

The man also told investigators that the victim was the man who controlled the brothel and the girls inside.

In an interview with investigators after Miranda, the 14-year-old confessed to his involvement in the murder.

The teen was charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, conspiracy to commit robbery with a firearm and armed burglary.

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