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TILLER MURDER: Suspects Arrested

Courtesy photos

Gerald Sanders, 18, Nick Mezie, 17 Joseph Graham, 18 , were all charged in connection to Tiller's murder.

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By Dan  Fearson | Highlands Today

Published: January 17, 2008

Updated: 01/18/2008 03:34 pm

SEBRING — The Highlands County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday afternoon that they have arrested three suspects on first-degree murder charges relating to the Nov. 24, 2007 death of Samuel Tiller.

Gerald Sanders, 18, of 243 Mandy Circle, Sebring; Joseph Graham, 18, of 3806 Leeway Ct., Sebring; and Nick Mezie, 17, formerly of Sebring, were all charged in connection to Tiller's murder.

Tiller, 82, was found on the floor of his Falcon Avenue home with an apparent gun shot wound.

All suspects are being held without bond.

"Crime scene detectives exhaustively processed the scene for physical evidence and a team of detectives, led by case agent Detective Pete Barone, began investigating all possible leads and piecing the circumstances of Mr. Tiller's murder together," a press release reads.

"With the facts and evidence gathered during this investigation, Sheriff's Detectives have identified three suspects based on interviews and physical evidence."

The release went on to say that the sheriff's office was assisted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office in arresting Mezie, who resides in West Palm Beach.

Tiller's murder appears to be a burglary gone awry.

"We have our suspicions that the suspects did not expect (Tiller) to be home when they burglarized the residence," said Sheriff Susan Benton. "We suspect that they were caught off guard."

"With the amount of other major crimes that have occurred during the past three months, apprehending suspects in this murder was a total team effort," said Benton. "It was one of our top priorities."

As of 5:30 p.m., Thursday, the Sebring suspects were awaiting booking into the Highlands County Jail.

An official with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office said that Mezie is being held in West Palm Beach, although a spokeswoman with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said that they could not release information pertaining to Mezie because of his status as a minor.

Records at the Highlands County Courthouse indicate that Graham entered a no contest plea to a misdemeanor battery charge on Dec. 13, 2007, three weeks after Tiller's murder, for an incident that took place in October.

Court records also indicate that Graham was placed on probation last Thursday as a result of his plea.

Check back for updates

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