FORT PIERCE, Fla. — The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday during a news conference that three men have been arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of a local deejay.
Tamarius Bembry, 21, Carlos Wilson, 21, and Tramaine Hickman, 24, have been charged with first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and burglary of a dwelling with assault and battery while armed, deputies said.
Investigators said they killed 39-year-old Marcus Leath on Aug. 21.
Deputies said Leath and his girlfriend were at their house on the 6500 block of Las Palmas Way when a group of masked men burglarized their home.
"Inside the house that night, the masked men forced Marcus at gunpoint to give them money. His girlfriend was able to run out the back of the house and find safety at a neighbor's home," said Chief Deputy Brian Hester during the news conference.
Detectives said Leath was shot twice and found dead inside the home.
"His girlfriend was able to run out of the back of the house and find safety at a neighbor's home," Hester said.
However, with the major break in this case, Sheriff Ken Mascara wants residents to focus on Leath and the kind of man he was.
"I don't want you to forget the most important part of the equation today and that’s the victim," said Mascara. "Marcus Leath, he was a young man that was doing everything right in his life. He had a home, he had a job, he had a career. He was not involved in drugs, he was not involved in gangs, he was not involved in guns."
Portraits of Leath and his little sister hang proudly inside their mother and father's home in Port St. Lucie.
"He was a love child. He was loved and he loved," said the victim's mother Lois Leath.
She still lights up when describing her firstborn child. But this time of year, the pain of losing her son stings much harder.
"This is the first time that we have not put up a Christmas tree," Lois Leath said. "There's something missing. The joy that is usually there for this family is not there. Marcus was such a big part."
She said the announcement of the arrests brings mixed emotions. She misses her son, but she also grieves for the families of the three suspects.
"There's no peace for our family. What we're looking for is not revenge, but justice, and we're just one step closer," Lois Leath said. "We still have a long way to go."
Hester said the three suspects were already jailed on unrelated charges.
All three men will continue to be held in the St. Lucie County jail without bond.