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BOYNTON BEACH — A fast-food wrapper, cellphone data from a meal purchase and fingerprints from a car were among the clues that linked a Boynton Beach teen to the December fatal shooting of a bystander during a "rolling gun battle," according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office arrest report.

The teen, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, faces one count each of second-degree murder, being a delinquent in possession of a firearm and discharging a firearm from a vehicle. The Palm Beach Post is not naming the defendant because was he was juvenile at the time of the alleged offense.

The sheriff's office also has not named the 24-year-old man killed in the Dec. 29 shooting at Mentone Road and San Castle Boulevard, just outside the city limits. His family invoked its right to privacy under a 2018 state constitutional amendment allowing either crime victims or their families to withhold their names from public reports.

Authorities transferred the man, who was 17 at the time of the fatal shooting, to the Palm Beach County Jail from from the Juvenile Assessment Center on Wednesday to face charges as an adult. During a hearing Thursday at the jail, Circuit Judge Kirk Volker appointed the teen a public defender and ordered that he be held without bail on the murder charge. As a matter of policy, the Public Defender's Office does not comment on open cases.

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Passengers in two moving cars fired at each other, PBSO says

A PBSO arrest report said the occupants of two vehicles chasing each other on nearby streets were exchanging gunfire the evening of Dec. 29 when the fatal shooting occurred. A stray bullet struck the man, who died in a home at the northeast corner of San Castle and Mentone. The bullet penetrated a garage while the man sat inside eating.

Surveillance-camera video showed a Hyundai Genesis and a BMW engaged in the armed altercation. Deputies found the Genesis abandoned near the house, the report said. A search, done with a warrant, revealed spent shell casings, a receipt from one fast-food restaurant and parchment paper from another inside the vehicle, deputies said.

Surveillance footage from a nearby shopping plaza recorded about 40 minutes before the fatal shooting reportedly showed the 18-year-old purchasing food from a fast-food restaurant. The arrest report said the teen used his phone to complete his purchase, allowing deputies to confirm the device was in his possession just prior to the shooting.

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PBSO says helicopter spotted teen discarding firearm

DNA evidence collected from Hyundai was matched to the teen and two known acquaintances, the PBSO report said. On Jan. 2, as deputies were attempting to locate the 18-year-old and another teen, they spotted an Audi and began a pursing to the Boynton Beach area from suburban West Palm Beach, covering about 10 miles.

A PBSO helicopter was able to capture the 18-year-old fleeing on foot and discarding what appeared to be a firearm, the arrest report said. Deputies tracked the teen to his home. The teen walked out and surrendered after deputies announced their presence, the report said.

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Deputies recovered the firearm and sent it to PBSO's crime lab, which determined that the bullet recovered from the shooting victim was fired from that weapon. DNA recovered from the trigger matched the 18-year-old, the report said. DNA from the teen's alleged accomplices was excluded from the tests.

As of Feb. 17, no additional arrests had been announced, but the shooting remains under investigation, a PBSO spokesperson said Thursday.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Teen charged with 2nd-degree murder in 'rolling gun battle' shooting