Murder victim, St. Lucie County Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Gary Morales
Mug shot of cop-killer Eriese Alphonso Tisdale
Suspect in St. Lucie deputy slaying claims he acted in self-defense
By Toni-Ann Miller
Friday, March 1, 2013, 10:08 a.m.; updated: 5:05 p.m.
Palm Beach Post
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Share condolences: Sgt. Gary Morales
The man accused in the shooting death of a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office sergeant reportedly told authorities he acted in self-defense.
Eriese Alphonso Tisdale, 25, is being held at the county jail without bond after having his first court appearance Friday morning before Judge Thomas Walsh.
Tisdale, of Fort Pierce, is accused of gunning down 12-year sheriff’s office veteran Sgt. Gary Morales, 35, during a traffic stop Thursday morning.
Morales pulled over a car for unknown reasons at about 9:30 a.m. in an unincorporated pocket of St. Lucie County south of Fort Pierce. He had briefly chased the suspect car before the driver pulled over, officials said.
Morales was calling in his location in the 3200 block of Naylor Terrace and relaying the car’s license-plate information when the driver reportedly got out and began firing. Sheriff Ken Mascara said Morales had opened his squad car door but “never had a chance” to get out of the vehicle.
“He didn’t even have time to draw his weapon,” Mascara said.
The probable cause affidavit says a second responding deputy turned the corner and saw a black male — later identified as Tisdale — standing by Morales’ patrol vehicle and shooting into the driver’s side. Tisdale then turned the gun on the second deputy, and the two exchanged fire. The deputy said he fired about five rounds at Tisdale, who ran back to his maroon Toyota Corolla and drove away.
Other deputies pursued the vehicle and ultimately caused Tisdale to lose control. He got out of the car and surrendered. A detective found a gun on the floor of the passenger side.
Tisdale later spoke to deputies without a lawyer but did not sign a waiver. He said he was going to the store when he saw the marked patrol car make a U-turn and follow him. He said he saw the flashing lights come on but drove a few seconds before pulling over. Tisdale said the deputy (Morales) walked up to his vehicle and told him to get out and get on the ground. He said he was in fear for his life because of the deputy’s tone and the fact that he had his hand on his gun. Tisdale said he fled the scene, and the deputy pursued him, ramming into his car during the chase. He later said his actions were in self-defense, but could not offer specifics to justify those actions, the affidavit says.
Morales suffered at least three gunshot wounds, including one to the side of his head, the affidavit says. He was still sitting in the driver’s seat, and his gun was still in his holster.
Tisdale has previously been arrested on drug and traffic charges, including five arrests in Palm Beach County since 2007, according to state records. Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies arrested him on an out-of-county warrant for drug-related charges in July 2010. Earlier that year, he was arrested and later convicted on drug possession charges in Riviera Beach.
Morales’ death was the first on-duty sheriff’s department fatality in St. Lucie County since Major Deputy Joseph P. Hover lost his life during defensive tactics training in 2005 and the seventh overall death since the sheriff’s office was opened.
A viewing for Morales is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m. The funeral service will be held at Westside Baptist Church, located at 3361 S. Jenkins Road in Fort Pierce, at noon. The graveside service at Forest Hills Memorial Park in Palm City will follow.
Palm Beach Post staff writer Julius Whigham II contributed to this story.
For more on this case, see “Below the Fold.”
The reader who sent me this article observed,
Blacks + rap music (sic) = murder and mayhem.
It's like a Betty Crocker recipe.
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