Sheriff David Morgan reported the arrests of three more people in the Billings murder case – Fredrick Lee Thornton, Donald Ray Stallworth and an unnamed juvenile (age 16). All seven suspects will be charged with open counts of murder, including Leonard Patrick Gonzalez, Sr who had been charged earlier with tampering with evidence. The juvenile will be charged as an adult.
Sumner (who was arrested yesterday), Thornton, Stallworth and the juvenile all are from Okaloosa County and worked together at Fifth Dimension Auto Detailing. The Sheriff identified them as friends of Patrick Gonzalez (Jr.) who has been named the organizer of the crime.
Morgan said that there may be one more arrest of someone (he didn’t say male or female) who aided and abetted the suspects.
Morgan said that Wayne Coldiron is associated with Gonzalez Sr. He worked some for a pressure washing business owned by the elder Gonzalez. Morgan stated that Coldiron may have been on the Billings property at one time to do some pressure washing.
State Attorney Bill Eddins was also at the press conference and said that the primary motive was robbery and that the suspects took a medium-size safe from the Billings home.
Again Morgan hinted at there being a bigger scope to this case involving businesses outside the state and country. However, for his department, Morgan believes that they have solved the Billings murder case and that it will be up to the Feds to pursue other leads.
Eddins said he expects to take the cases before a grand jury within a few weeks. At time, more information will be released as the court documents are filed. He would not commit to whether his office will seek the death penalty.
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