Boys, ages 12 & 17, accused of killing 3 Marion County teens; $10K reward offered for 1 at large

MARION COUNTY, Fla. — A 12-year-old and a 17-year-old are facing first-degree murder charges and another teenager is at large after deputies say they killed three teenagers in Marion County.

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.

>>> STREAM CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS LIVE <<<

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 the killing all three teens at the same time.

Watch: Sheriff releases photo of car belonging to 1 of 3 teens killed in Marion County

“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. He said the third suspect, Tahj Brewton, 16, remains at large.

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

Read: Shooting deaths of 3 teens could be tied to ‘wannabe gang,’ sheriff says

“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.

Read: More time is taken to get juveniles through Orange, Osceola justice systems, data shows

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:

Sheriff: Shooting deaths of 3 teenagers in rural Marion County connected to ‘hybrid gangs’ The shooting deaths of three teenagers in recent days in the rural community of Forest Lakes Park are connected to a “wannabe gang,” Marion County Sheriff Billy (WFTV)

Click here to download the free WFTV news and weather apps, click here to download the WFTV Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2023 Cox Media Group