Third suspect arrested: Three Florida teens charged with murdering three other Florida teens

(Tahj Brewton, 16, booking photo <top>  /   Christopher Atkins, 12 and Robert Robinson, 17, <bottom>,  Image credit: MCSO)

Regarding Ace News Today’s recent story regarding the three Florida teens that were found murdered on March 30, police in Florida have arrested a third suspect in those connected murders, 16-year-old Tahj Brewton.  The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) announced that on Saturday, April 8, just south of Groveland, Florida, the United States Marshals, with the assistance of the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, captured Brewton and arrested him on his outstanding warrants for carjacking with a firearm, aggravated assault, grand theft of a motor vehicle, fleeing or attempt to elude a law enforcement officer, and tampering with an electronic monitoring device.

Officials say that their homicide investigation into those three teen homicides is still ongoing, and that they expect additional charges to be forthcoming.

See:  Police: “Three Florida teen shooting deaths are connected, suspects from “wannabe gang” may be responsible”  ~ Ace News Today

Background:   On Thursday, March 30, at approximately 10:52 p.m., Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the area of Forest Lakes Park on SE 183rd Avenue Road in response to an injured female laying on the side of the road suffering from a gunshot wound.  The victim, later identified as 16-year-old Layla Silvernail, was transported to a hospital where she later died from her injuries.

The following morning on March 31 at approximately 7:55 a.m., deputies responded to SE 94th Street and SE 188th Court in response to a report of another person lying on the side of the road. When deputies responded, they discovered a 17-year-old male deceased from an apparent gunshot wound. On Saturday, April 1 at approximately 12:28 p.m., deputies located Layla Silvernail’s vehicle abandoned and partially submerged in a small pond near Ocklawaha, Florida.

The vehicle was approximately nine miles away from the location where Layla Silvernail was located. When detectives searched the vehicle, they located a female juvenile victim deceased from an apparent gunshot wound.

According to MSN, the 17-year-old male and 16-year-old girl who were found dead on Friday morning and Saturday afternoon will have their names withheld according to Florida’s Marsy’s Law.  UPI reported MCSO Sheriff Woods as saying that although the shootings were all isolated, they were still connected.  “All of our victims were known to know each other and were together leading up to the incident itself,” he said.

Woods did say that all victims were friends and that their deaths may be connected to what he called “wannabe gangs.”  During their investigation and aided by numerous tips from citizens, detectives were able to develop their three suspects in this case: Robert Le’Andrew Robinson, Christopher De’l Atkins, and Tahj Brewton.

On Thursday, April 7, Robert Le’Andrew Robinson, 17-years-old, and Christopher De’l Atkins, 12-years-old, were both arrested and charged with suspicion of first-degree, pre-mediated murder. 

See the video of Atkins and Robinson being arrested, Credit: MCSO

Robinson was already in juvenile custody after being apprehended by a different agency and was also booked under suspicion of robbery, according to Fox 35 in Orlando.  A $10,000 reward was being offered for the arrest of Tahj Brewton, who was still at large, but police were able to capture that 16-year-old the next day on April 8.

MCSO Sheriff Woods stated, “This investigation has been a success because of several factors. Our law enforcement partners with the FBI, the U.S. Marshal’s Service, State Attorney Bill Gladson’s Office, FDLE, the Ocala Police Department, my deputies, detectives, and forensics professionals, and finally, our citizens who provided numerous tips all along the way.”

According to MSN, authorities now believe the victims and the suspects were all part of a burglary gang. For more on the story, see the video below, which includes the following revelations: 

“The three teenage victims were involved in illegal activities with the three other teen murder suspects. One of the victim’s phone had pictures of weapons and ammunition. They were believed to be smoking weed at a traphouse in Marion County. They planned to rob someone for weed, according to investigators.”

(Source: MCSO)

Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today   /   Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram