FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A judge has ordered a mental competency evaluation for the man charged with murder in the February killing of a Palm Coast gas station clerk.
Joseph Bova II is charged with first-degree murder in the execution-style killing of Zuheily Roman Rosado at the Mobil Mart. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty if Bova is convicted.
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Investigators have not established a motive for the killing, and they said while Bova has made some incriminating statements, there's nothing he's said that helps them understand the motive. There was no known connection between Bova and the victim.
Bova was living in his car at the time, and video surveillance allowed detectives to identify it as a match to a suspicious vehicle in the area. Bova was also placed in the Mobil Mart two hours before the killing using an ATM at the store.
Deputies said Bova had 400 contacts with law enforcement during his time in Flagler County but was never arrested and had no criminal history.
Bova was arrested by Boca Raton police after a search of the car he was in turned up the murder weapon, deputies said. He is still being held in the Palm Beach County jail.
Investigators said a Crime Stoppers tip and the unique nature of the gun used helped lead them to Bova, who had purchased the gun legally last year at a Volusia County gun store.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement crime lab matched the three shell casings found at the scene to the gun.
Rosado was 32 years old and mother of six children -- the youngest 1 and the oldest 16 and attending Flagler Palm Coast High School.
Bova's next court appearance is set for Dec. 3.