Atmore men charged with attempted murder

Four Atmore men have been arrested and charged with attempted murder.

Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies along with members of the U.S. Marshals Task Force made the arrests within the last two weeks.

Antonio Triplett, 30; Cornelius Triplett, 28; and Justin Lawson, 27, were arrested on Dec. 14 for attempted murder and burglary I that occurred at 592 Martinville Loop on Nov. 28, ECSO Chief Deputy Mike Lambert said.

Antonio Triplett, Cornelius Triplett and Justin Lawson entered Derek James Staples’ Martinville Loop residence, demanded and wanted to know if he had any money, according to Advance archives.

Lambert said the suspects got Staples’ wallet and took a large sum of money.

“Before they left, a shot was fired and struck him in the mid section,” he said. “The suspects left and (Staples) was able to get himself up and go over to his cousin’s house, and put him in the car and drove him to the hospital by POV (privately owned vehicle).”

The fourth Atmore man, Leonardo Moye, 30, was arrested and charged with attempted murder on Dec. 9, for the Freemanville Community shooting at Thyme’s Place on Nov. 29, Lambert said.

Lambert said Moye was the actual trigger man in the shooting that injured three people in the parking lot of the bar.

Lambert said ECSO Investigator Presten Hill and Michael Sanderson, along with patrol deputies, worked hard on these cases, adding that the public helped, too.

“Thank you to the public for their assistance in both cases,” he said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

Antonio Triplett and Cornelius Triplett are being held in the Escambia County Detention Center on a $200,000 bond each; Lawson is being held on a $100,000 bond; and Moye has since been released on a $200,000 bond.