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2 arrested after man was found shot to death in trunk of car at Palmetto nature preserve: MCSO

By and FOX 13 News Staff
Published  August 26, 2024 10:39am EDT
Manatee County
FOX 13 News

2 arrested after man found shot to death in trunk

Kylie Jones reports

PALMETTO, Fla. - Two suspects were arrested after a man was found dead at Palmetto Estuary Nature Preserve early Sunday morning, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.

Detectives say Palmetto police officers were on patrol at the nature preserve located at 101 U.S. 41 around 2 a.m. when they found a man, later identified as 32-year-old Manuel Escobar, dead in the trunk of a car. According to officials, he had multiple gunshot wounds.

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Investigators said Escobar was shot in the 2800 block of 5th Street East in Bradenton, and his body was later left in an abandoned car at the estuary park in Palmetto.

Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff’s Office 

According to the sheriff's office, detectives developed probable cause to arrest 25-year-old Freddy Sandoval in connection to the shooting. Deputies searched for 20-year-old Idus Murkerson and issued an arrest warrant for second-degree murder. The sheriff's office says Murkerson was arrested by the Florida Highway Patrol in Santa Rosa County on Monday morning.

Authorities say Escobar, Sandoval and Murkerson were arguing over money on Saturday when Murkerson shot Escobar multiple times. The sheriff's office believes this was an isolated incident.

"We know that there was a meeting with all three of these people, and that there was a transaction that happened sometime in the past, and our victim went to meet these two guys," Randy Warren, a spokesperson for MCSO said.

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