Two Virginia men have been charged for allegedly exploiting the brother of Parkland school shooter, Nikolas Cruz.
Mike Donovan and Richard Moore, both 45, were arrested in Virginia earlier this week after taking in Zachary Cruz, 22, and helping his to set up a life away from the scene where his brother shot and killed 17 people.
Donovan told The Sun Sentinel that he and Moore, his husband, offered Zachary a home and a job in 2018 after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Reporters from The Sun Sentinel spoke with Donovan after his release. The Virginia resident said that he has a very superficial understanding of the charges against them.
Zachary Cruz has been living in Virginia with Donovan and Moore since the couple picked him up from South Florida in 2018.
According to the man, law enforcement have accused Moore and Donovan of exploiting Zachary, a 'mentally incapacitated person.'
Charges also allege that the two obtained money from Zachary Cruz under false pretenses.
Lawyers for Zachary Cruz said that Donovan and Moore exploited the 22-year-old for more than a year, from April 2019 to April 2020.
Donovan disputes Zachary's lawyers' claim that he was a victim.
The Virginia man also told The Sun Sentinel that the 22-year-old is not 'mentally incapacitated.'
'I want to point that out that first of all, I didn't exploit Zach, and secondly, Zach isn't mentally incapacitated,' he said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel.
If the allegations are true, the men could have been after the inheritance left behind for the brothers after their mother's death in 2017.
Zachary and Nikolas each stood to inherit a reported $428,000 from her estate.
The Virginia couple initially helped Zachary after he was arrested in 2018 for trespassing.
The brother of the Parkland shooter was found on the property of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the shooting and was promptly taken into custody.
Donovan and Moore got him out of South Florida and brought him to Virginia where he has lived and is in current pursuit of his GED, according to Donovan.
The man who spoke with the news outlet also said that Zachary used all of the money he inherited and lives on a weekly stipend. He says that he dreams of opening a skate park.
'Zach is this incredible young man and he really should be broken, and he's not,' Donovan said. 'It's like, why are you continuing to try to break this guy? His brother is a madman, but Jesus Christ, he's his own person. He doesn't deserve this.'
Donovan and Moore are accusing the Augusta County Sheriff's Office of corruption and harassment, calling them 'corrupt cops.'
'When you fight against corrupt cops, sometimes the corrupt cops snap back, and I guess that's what happened today,' Donovan said.