3rd suspect involved In murder of 3 teenagers in Marion County arrested, deputies say

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A third suspect allegedly involved in the shooting deaths of three teenagers in Marion County was arrested, deputies say.

According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Tahj Brewton, 16, was arrested on Saturday for his involvement in the murder of three teenagers.

Brewton was captured just south of Groveland by United States Marshals, with the assistance of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said Brewton was arrested on outstanding warrants for carjacking with a firearm, aggravated assault, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer, and tampering with an electronic monitoring device.

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At this time, the homicide investigation is ongoing and additional charges are forthcoming, deputies said in a Facebook post.

On Friday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods held a news conference announcing the arrest of two of the teens involved.

At this time, a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old are facing first-degree murder charges.

Sheriff Billy Woods said his department worked along with various other law enforcement agencies to link the three suspects to the deaths of three teenagers found dead in the Ocklawaha area last week.

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The teenagers — a boy and two girls — were found with gunshot wounds days apart in rural Marion County. The third teenager’s body was found Saturday inside a vehicle that had been partially submerged in a body of water, Woods said.

Woods said the suspects left the scene after killing all three teens at the same time.

“They fled but left a lot of evidence in their wake,” Woods said.

Woods said Robert Robinson, 17, and Christopher Atkins, 12, were arrested Thursday night and charged with first-degree murder.

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The sheriff’s office announced Friday afternoon that there is a $10,000 reward for information that leads to Brewton’s arrest.

“Some of you know him, know where he is and you need to turn him in,” Woods said. “I will get him, I will find him and justice will be complete.”

Woods said the shootings don’t appear to be related to any sort of gang rivalry, but that the teens were all associated with gangs.

“Each and every one of them was in some shape or form was associated with a gang,” Woods said Friday.

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Woods said the suspects were known to commit burglaries and robberies in the area, and that that’s how they got their hands on the gun used in the killings.

Woods said the suspects and victims had been involved in burglaries and robberies together and had a falling out.

“There is no honor among the thieves, and at some point, these three individuals turned on our three victims and murdered them,” Woods said.

See detectives walk the suspect to jail in the video below:

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