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Highlands Today

Final Tiller Murderer Sentenced To 35 Years

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: February 5, 2009

SEBRING - The case resulting from the November 2007 shooting death of Samuel Tiller has come to an end, with the third suspect being sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison.

Gerald Edward Sanders, 19, once again entered pleas of no contest to charges of second-degree murder and armed burglary of a dwelling. He had previously entered the same pleas on Dec. 18 and was set for sentencing Jan. 29.

At that sentencing, Sanders' attorney, Deborah Wells, informed Judge Peter Estrada that her client wanted to withdraw from his plea agreement.
Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin said at the time the defendant was having "buyer's remorse," and moved for the prosecution to withdraw from the plea, thus setting the stage for a trial in not only the Tiller case, but four other cases Sanders had also entered pleas in.

In the new agreement, Sanders also entered pleas of no contest to charges that included armed kidnapping with a firearm, burglary of a dwelling while armed with a firearm, grand theft and felony cruelty to a dog.

The sentences in all five cases were set to run concurrently for a total of 35 years in prison.

A pre-sentence investigation had been completed and Estrada went ahead and sentenced Sanders at Wednesday's hearing.

A Case Comes To A Close

On Nov. 24, 2007, Sanders, along with Joseph Paul Graham and Nicholas Mezie, broke into the home of Samuel Tiller, 82. The victim surprised the suspects and Graham shot him.

Mezie also pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and armed burglary on Dec. 12, 2008. He was sentenced to 25 years.

Both he and Sanders had testified in open court that they broke a window out of the Tiller home, climbed in and opened the front door for Graham.

Mezie testified that Graham later told them he had shot the victim on accident.

On Jan. 23, Graham pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and armed burglary. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

'A Real Whodunit'
Houchin acknowledged the efforts of the Highlands County Sheriff's Office in helping his office develop a "strong case" against the three suspects. He added that the night of the home invasion, there were no suspects or physical evidence.

"The sheriff's department started out with a real whodunit out there that night," Houchin said. "I give the sheriff's department a lot of credit. They did a lot of hard work on it."
Houchin said a break in the case came when a fellow student overheard the suspects talking about the incident. This was reported to the school resource officer, who then reported it to detectives.

"They ended up wiring up the young man and he tape recorded them talking about this," Houchin said, adding that "excellent tapes" came out of it.

The victim's wife did not wish to comment about the case's conclusion following Wednesday's hearing. Houchin said the process has been "absolutely devastating," since the two had been married since World War II.

"He was everything to her," Houchin said.

With a life sentence and two additional lengthy prison terms, Houchin said he felt it was a "fair disposition."

"I'm satisfied," he said. "I think it's a fair and appropriate sentence."

Highlands Today reporter Brad Dickerson can be reached at (863) 386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com

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