OCALA, Fla. – A man accused of fatally shooting a 32-year-old victim in Ocala was arrested with help from the Ocala police SWAT team, according to a news release.
Police said the victim, Sherman Samuels, 32, was found Wednesday with a gunshot wound to the back of the head in a vehicle near the 3500 block of W. Silver Springs Blvd. The car was found in the middle of a retention pond sitting in about 1 foot of water, according to the police report.
Recommended Videos
Around the same time officers received a call about the shooting victim they also got a call about a suspicious person at the Senor Bubbles laundromat on State Road 40, according to the arrest report.
Through their investigations detectives determined Tyre Patrick Meggie, 27, was suspected of the homicide.
On Thursday, Ocala police learned the suspect was hiding out at the Sleep Inn & Suites and the SWAT team was called out to secure the area. Meggie was found in the bathtub in a motel room with a gunshot wound to the leg, according to the arrest report. Meggie was taken to a local hospital to be treated before being booked into jail.
It’s unclear when Meggie was shot or by whom from the arrest report. A witness said they heard a second gunshot as Meggie was running away from the victim’s car in the retention pond. According to the witness, there were four people in the car when Samuels was fatally shot, including Meggie.
Meggie is charged with second-degree murder.
The investigation is still active. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers of Marion County at 352-368-STOP.