3 arrested in Polk home invasion that left baby covered in victim's blood

Polk County deputies say they have arrested three people involved in a drug-related shooting that left two people dead, one wounded and a blood-covered, but unharmed, toddler beneath the body of one victim.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said detectives are still seeking two more suspects in the Oct. 4 home invasion in a suburban neighborhood in Poinciana.

In custody are Joshua Bryson, 38, and Major Griffin, 28, both of Orlando, and Robert McCloud, 28, of Apopka. Bryson is being held in Orange County; Griffin and McCloud are in the Polk County Jail.

Investigators are searching for Andre Brown, 40, and Jamal Brown, 25, both of Orlando.

Andrew Brown was last known to be driving a 2003 gold Cadillac CTS, Florida license plate M00 4BS. The vehicle has gray primer spots along the passenger side. It is the same vehicle witnesses say they saw in the area around the time of the attacks, the sheriff said.

All five of the men are charged with two counts each of first-degree murder and armed burglary.

Shortly after midnight Oct. 4, a group of men forced their way into a house at 619 Dunlin Lane in Poinciana and shot and killed Tamiqa Taylor, 26, of Port St. Lucie, and Dustin Freeman, 23, of Hutchinson, Kan. The shootings happened during an argument with the toddler's father, 29-year-old Wilkins Merilan, who lives at the house, the sheriff's office said that day.

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference then that Taylor and Freeman were executed.

The men told Merilan, "If you're going to sell drugs, you're going to sell our drugs," and asked him where their $5,000 was, according to an Oct. 4 sheriff's office release.

The intruders then shot Merilan twice and tortured him. Merilan hid in a closet for several hours before calling 911 shortly after 6 a.m., the sheriff's office said at the time.

Merilan also suffered severe burns to his lower abdomen and injuries to his head, the sheriff said.

At first, deputies thought the 3-year-old girl was also dead. She was covered in blood and under Taylor's body as they combed the shooting scene for clues.

Then, she snored. The toddler was asleep under Taylor's body. The girl's mother was not at the house.
The 3-year-old, who is Merilan's daughter, was unharmed and reunited with her mother.