Eight people are now believed to have been involved in the home invasion/shooting deaths of
Byrd and Melanie Billings in Pensacola, Florida.
Escambia County Sheriffs Department announced this evening that a fourth suspect is in custody. Gary Lamont Sumner, 31 [pictured] will be charged tomorrow with an open count of murder. The others ~ "three black males and a white male" ~ are believed to be in Okaloosa County.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan also said robbery was the motive for the deaths.
He declined to discuss what was taken in the robbery.
He described the deaths as "chilling" and "shocking." But declined to elaborate.
At one point, five suspects were in the Billings' house. He said they could have eluded the surveillance system at the house. The surveillance system captured images of a large van four of the suspects used to arrive and depart from the house.
Morgan said the three entered the Billings's house through an open door on the north side. He said the three were dressed like ninjas, they wore black clothing and masks. Two others, who had been hiding in nearby woods, also entered the house, Morgan said.
Three of the nine children at home on Thursday evening observed the intruders, Morgan said. One of the children did manage to leave the home and seek help at the nearby nannies house where 911 was dialed.
Byrd and Melanie Billings funeral has been arranged for this Friday.
Visitation for Byrd “Bud” Starling and Melanie Anne Billings is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Liberty Church, 2221 S. Blue Angel Parkway.
Funeral services are planned for 11 a.m. Friday at the church~With Pensacola Memorial Gardens Funeral Home directing the arrangements.
Earlier today ~ Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Sr, 56, who is charged with evidence tampering made a court appearance via video teleconference from the Escambia County Jail.
Escambia County Judge Thomas Johnson asked him if he had a job.
"I'm disabled, your honor," he replied.
Johnson appointed the Public Defender's Office to represent him.
"Thank you, sir," Gonzalez Sr. said.
State Attorney Bill Eddins asked that Gonzalez's bond remain at $250,000, the amount set when he was arrested Sunday.
"With his prior record, I don't think $250,000 is enough," Johnson said.
Gonzalez Sr.'s criminal record reveals 37 arrests in Escambia, Hillsborough and Collier counties, according to court records. Infractions range from traffic citations to an aggravated assault arrest in Escambia County that dates back to 1978.
The most recent serious infraction in Escambia County ~ until Sunday's arrest ~ was a 2003 DUI charge and a felony arrest for driving with a license suspended. He pleaded no contest and served time in Escambia County Jail after he violated his probation, court records show.
Gonzalez Sr. is accused of repainting a red van that was used to take assailants to and from the Billings home last Thursday. The van was found at Gonzalez Sr.'s mobile home on Palm Court on Saturday.
An Escambia County sheriff's report also says Gonzalez Sr. drove the van, which included his son, Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr., and Wayne Coldiron, to the Billings home in Beulah.
So far, he has not been charged in connection with driving the van.
Wayne Thomas Coldiron, 41, of Pensacola and Leonard Patrick Gonzalez Jr, 35, of Gulf Breeze were charged Sunday with open counts of murder. And have still to make a court appearance.
Wayne Thomas Coldiron has a criminal historyWayne Coldiron served two years in a Tennessee prison after a fight ended in a man's death.
In 1992, an argument between Coldiron and an acquaintance, Terry Corbett, erupted at a home in rural Hamblen County, according to a Tennessee court document.
When the two men finished fighting, Coldiron called 911, saying he defended himself against Corbett's attack, the document said.
Corbett declined immediate medical attention and was taken to his mother's home by officers. He died the next day after being taken to a hospital.
Coldiron eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal negligent homicide and was sentenced to two years in prison.
Then-prosecutor John Dugger Jr., now a criminal court judge in Hamblen County, said Monday he barely remembers the case but asked to see the old files when Coldiron's name surfaced in the Billingses homicide investigation.
"It's really fuzzy," he said. "But it looks like he actually called 911 to help that guy."
Coldiron's criminal activities didn't end in Tennessee.
He was arrested in 1998 in Broward County, Fla., on an aggravated assault charge. He served 21 months in state prison and was released from the Wakulla Correctional Institution near Crawfordville in February 2000, according to Florida Department of Corrections records.
Details of the Broward incident were not immediately available. A court spokeswoman said a full report will be available today.
When Coldiron was released, he gave the Department of Corrections a new address of the Salvation Army in Pensacola, records show.
In 2002, he took a job with a plumbing company in Pensacola.
By May 2003, Coldiron worked with the Mobile company of Construction Affiliates. He worked on a crew of about three people, removing recalled piping from homes, according to company owner Richard Casey.
Casey said Monday he had no interaction with Coldiron. But he said an office worker, after hearing about the Billings case, mentioned that Coldiron once worked for the company.
Most recently, Coldiron has been working in construction as a day laborer in Pensacola.
Source The Pensacola News Journal
