PALMETTO, FL – Two men have been charged in connection with a weekend homicide in Manatee County. Authorities discovered the victim’s body in the trunk of a car abandoned in a nature reserve, leading to a rapid investigation and subsequent arrests.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office reported that officers on routine patrol found the vehicle early Sunday morning at the Palmetto Estuary Nature Preserve. The car, showing signs of damage and blood, contained the body of a 32-year-old man who had been shot multiple times.
Investigators traced the crime back to an argument over money involving the victim and two suspects, Freddy Sandoval and Idis Merkerson. The confrontation occurred near Fifth Street East and 28th Avenue in Bradenton. The Sheriff’s Office believes that Merkerson shot the victim in his car before the suspects transported the body to the nature reserve.
Authorities quickly apprehended Sandoval, but Merkerson fled the scene. The Florida Highway Patrol later captured him near the Alabama border on Monday morning. Both suspects are now in custody, with Merkerson facing second-degree murder charges and Sandoval charged with murder and accessory after the fact.
Randy Warren, a spokesperson for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, expressed hope that the suspects would provide more details about the incident, though he acknowledged that nothing could undo the tragedy. The Sheriff’s Office considers this an isolated incident and continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crime.