Sheriff Billy Woods of Marion County, Florida, said on Friday that two teens have been arrested and a third is being looked for in connection with the recent shooting deaths of three teens in the area.
Investigators think the victims were involved in break-ins and robberies, and Woods said that both the victims and the suspects were members of criminal gangs.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office said that Robert Le’Andrew Robinson, 17, and Christopher De’l Atkins, 12, were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Tahj Brewton, who is 16 years old, is still on the run.
At a press conference, Woods said, “Basically, in simple terms, there is no honor among thieves.” “Eventually, these three people turned against our three victims and killed them.”
Woods said that the suspects had left clues behind.
The tweet below verifies the news:
12 and 17-year-old boys arrested in murders of 3 teenagers in Marion County last week.
The sheriff says a third suspect is still at large.
More details ➡️ https://t.co/y8WWAMnKcI@fox35orlando pic.twitter.com/dgprCYnoKt
— Marlisa Goldsmith (@MarlisaTV) April 7, 2023
“Both the people who were killed and the people who were killed are young,” Woods said.
Woods said that the office of the State Attorney for Marion County is looking into whether or not the suspects will be tried as adults. On Friday, the office was closed.
Layla Silvernail, who was 16 years old, was found on the side of a road in the Forest Lakes Park area on March 30. The sheriff’s office said that she died in the hospital because her injuries were so bad.
The next morning, around 8 a.m., deputies responded to a second call about a person on the side of a road. They found a 17-year-old boy who had been shot to death, according to authorities.
Woods said that the body of the third person was found on Saturday.
We don’t know the names of the second and third people who died.
Investigators think that the three of them were in Silvernail’s 2015 Chevy Cruze. Woods told CNN that the car was found in a lake with one of the victims still inside. Woods said at the press conference that the woman who died was found in the trunk.
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