3rd Juvenile Suspect, 16, Arrested in Connection With Triple Homicide of 3 Florida Teens, Authorities Say

Teen killer
Tahj Brewton, 16, was arrested Saturday, authorities said.Marion County Sheriff's Office

A third teenager has been arrested in connection with three Florida juveniles who were shot to death, authorities said.

A third juvenile suspect has been arrested in connection with the slayings of three teenagers in rural Florida, authorities said.

Tahj Brewton, 16, who was considered "armed and dangerous," was taken into custody Saturday, the Marion County Sheriff's Office announced on its Facebook page.

Brewton “was arrested on 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," the department said.

Those warrants were not related to the recent triple homicides, authorities said. The three shooting deaths are still being investigated and “additional charges are forthcoming,” the sheriff's office said Saturday.

Authorities have not said whether the juveniles will be tried as adults.

On Friday, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods announced at a press conference that two juvenile suspects had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. One is 12 years old, Woods said.

He identified the two suspects as Robert Robinson, 17, and 12-year-old Christopher Atkins. A reward of up to $10,000 was announced by the sheriff for information leading to the arrest of Brewton, who was on the run and considered "armed and dangerous," Woods said.

The victims were found over a series of three days beginning March 30, the sheriff said.

Deputies responded to the first victim, a female teenager found on the side of a road with a bullet wound, Woods said. She later died at a hospital and was identified as Layla Silvernail, 16, by authorities.

On March 31, deputies investigating a report of a second person found on the side of a road discovered a 17-year-old boy who had been fatally shot, Woods said. The teen's name was not released at the request of his family, authorities said.

On April 1, the body of a teenage girl was found in the trunk of Silvernail's car, which was partially submerged in a lake, Woods said. She, too, had been shot to death, Woods said. She was later identified as 16-year-old Camille Quarles in a GoFundMe campaign established to help her family. 

Sheriff Woods said all six teens were acquainted and allegedly involved in robberies and burglaries "associated with gangs." The suspects allegedly "turned" on the victims, Woods said.

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