MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A 45-year-old man was charged with shooting and killing another man in Ellenton five years ago, authorities said.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said Joseph Russell has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 34-year-old David Ritch.

Ritch’s family tells 8 On Your Side they were overwhelmed with emotions learning an arrest had been made.

“It has been a long road to get here and one that, quite frankly, we had started to get to a point where there was acceptance, where we were just kind of under the impression that it wouldn’t get solved. When the detective said ‘we like to make these calls’, my husband and I both looked at each other and we actually both started crying at the same time,” said Ritch’s step-mother Cynthia Meiners.

“You can’t command the detectives enough for sticking with this one,” said Ritch’s father Van Ritch. “From the beginning, they kept us informed and they did a good job and that is a big reason that we have some justice today,” he continued.

According to deputies, Ritch was shot on the afternoon of Aug. 29, 2015, and had ran to a nearby Walgreens, where he collapsed. He was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.

Before his death, Ritch told deputies someone had shined a light on him and shot him. Deputies found a backpack in an abandoned building nearby, which contained papers with the Ritch’s name on it and other evidence, including two .22 caliber shell casings.

Investigators later learned that Russell was upset that Ritch had been communicating with his girlfriend, and had threatened to harm him before the shooting.

“He truly was one of those people that was a wonderful friend to have. He made friends wherever he went and there was an outpouring from people that knew him. He was just a wonderful kid that fell in with some of the wrong people,” said Ritch’s father.

Russell, who was already in county jail on unrelated drug charges, was charged with first-degree murder.

He is being held without bond.

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