Weeki Wachee Man Indicted, Faces First Degree Murder Charge in Shooting

A grand jury returned an indictment on December 8, 2025, charging Evan Michael Stanley with premeditated first degree murder with a firearm in the death of Keval Mehta, whose body was found at a Weeki Wachee residence on August 20, 2025. Stanley had been arrested at the scene and held in the Hernando County Detention Center without bond since the incident. Officials said the indictment upgrades the initial second degree murder charge, and that the investigation remains active.

Deputies responded to a Schering Street residence in Weeki Wachee at approximately 3:05 a.m. on August 20 after reports of a shooting. Mehta, 40, was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Stanley, 24, who was not injured, contacted 911 and was detained without incident. Investigators determined the two men had previously worked together and had encountered one another earlier that night at a bar in Spring Hill. According to Stanley’s statements to detectives, Mehta offered him a ride after Stanley’s transportation fell through, and the men later argued at the Schering Street residence over a dog the two had been involved with during their employment.

Stanley told investigators that Mehta threatened him and his family and implied he was armed. Investigators said Stanley retrieved a rifle and a loaded magazine from a safe inside his bedroom then returned outside and fired multiple rounds after he believed Mehta was reaching into a vehicle trunk. Detectives confirmed that no firearms belonging to Mehta were recovered at the scene, and they also noted several conflicting statements from Stanley during questioning. Officials have not disclosed what prompted the grand jury to upgrade the charge.

For residents of Hernando County, the case raises public health and public safety concerns related to workplace disputes that escalate into lethal violence, and the ready availability of firearms in personal residences. The upgrade to a premeditated first degree murder charge signals prosecutors believe there is evidence of planning or deliberation, a development that will shape pretrial proceedings. The investigation is ongoing, and county officials say the criminal process will continue through indictment, arraignment, and any subsequent trial.