Fourth Suspect Held in Fla. Couple's Killing

July 13, 2009 — -- A man detained by cops for driving with an expired license was identified as a suspect in the killing of a Florida couple known for adopting disabled children, bringing the number of people arrested in the expanding case to four.

Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said this evening that day laborer Gary Lamont Sumner was being held in Okaloosa County, Fla., and would likely be brought to Escambia County Tuesday.

He said he expects more arrests to be "imminent," including another likely to happen Tuesday.

"We hope to bring all the suspects we have identified to justice very shortly," he said.

Sumner was picked up in a routine traffic stop, and was held after police determined he matched the description of one of the suspects in the killings of Byrd and Melanie Billings in their Beulah, Fla., home July 9, Morgan said.

The descriptions of the suspects had been put together from surveillance video from the Billings' home that showed five men entering and leaving the house, and from witnesses, he said.

Still hunting for at least three men and trying to determine the motives behind a crime that shocked the small rural town, investigators have been questioning the suspects in custody, he said.

"We're getting cooperation from all quarters," Morgan said when asked if those men were helping the investigation. "I'll let it go at that."

Earlier today, Morgan said that the "mastermind" who allegedly led as many as seven accomplices to rob and murder Byrd and Melanie Billings had been identified and arrested.

At the later news conference he reiterated that robbery was just one of the motives in the double murder case.

"We have a motive of robbery ... that is a motive," Morgan said. "We believe there are other motives."

At the earlier news conference, the sheriff also gave new details about the precision of the home invasion during which Byrd and Melanie Billings were murdered in their bedroom on July 9.

One team of two three men entered the front of the house while another team of two men, all dressed in black ninja gear, entered through an unlocked back door of the home, he said.

The sheriff marveled at the speed of the attack, saying the invaders were in and out of the house in less than four minutes.

"This was a well-planned, methodical operation," said Morgan. "There was planning that went into this operation."

Morgan declined to say whether the intruders entered the house with "an intent to kill."

He also would not say whether the people who killed Byrd and Melanie Billings took anything from the house.

"The total number of people we are looking for that are involved in the deaths of the Billings family is six to eight people," he said.

"We won't identify the mastermind, but it's one of those in custody," he said.

Two men, Wayne Coldiron and Leonard P. Gonzalez Jr., whose arrests on open murder charges were announced Sunday night, are due in court Tuesday.

A third person, Gonzalez's father Leonard P. Gonzalez Sr., 56, was arrested earlier Sunday on charges of tampering with evidence for allegedly trying to disguise the red van that police believe was used as the getaway vehicle.

Morgan said authorities are currently interviewing two black men in connection with the crime. Another black man who Morgan said was a "person of interest" has yet to be located. In addition, a white male also believed to be at the crime scene has not yet been located or identified.

The sheriff showed a surveillance tape from the Billings home that Morgan called "chilling and shocking." It showed two men emerged from among trees in the rear property and hurry to a back door of the house.

They are believed to have been traveling in a metallic blue flake or gold flake Escalade that has not yet been located.

Detectives have been viewing surveillence tapes from local merchants such as K-Mart, Target and Wal-Mart in hopes of spotting some of the assaliants buying clothing used in the assault, Morgan said.

Asked why the Billings family may have been targeted for this robbery, Morgan speculated that it may have had to do wtih the family being well-known in the community.

"The 'why question' in any crime that occurs is one you wrangle with," said the sheriff. "It could be a very long time before we know why this family was selected."

The gruesome deaths of the Billings couple shocked the country because they had dedicated their lives to caring for disabled children. They had four children of their own, but adopted 12 others, including children with Down syndrome and cerebral palsy.

Eight of the children were sleeping in the house during the murders, but a ninth ran outside to get help, according to Morgan.

Ashley Markham, one of Melanie Billings' biological children, said the children were coping with their parents' death.

"The children are coping very well," said an emotional Markham during a news conference today. "They are with lots of family and friends are not asking a lot of questions."

Byrd Billings managed several businesses that allowed him and his wife to be able to take care of so many children.

"We are working multiple motives and that adds to its complexity," Morgan told ABCNews.com prior to his news conference. "We have not been able to define a single motive and we're working on numerous leads."

Morgan described Byrd Billings as an entrepreneur who "was involved in a lot of different businesses."

When asked whether Billings was linked to any of his alleged killers, Morgan said, "To the best of our knowledge, he was not."

Billings' businesses included used car dealerships. One of the suspects in custody, Coldiron, also worked for a used car dealership.

"Billings has owned several car dealerships and finance operations, but to the best of my knowledge there was no connection to Coldiron," said Morgan.

Morgan did say that investigators are still working to determine whether either of the Billings and the suspects had done business together in the past.

At a court appearance Monday, Gonzalez Sr.'s bond was increased to $500,000. He did not speak during the appearance except to say that he is disabled when asked if he was employed. The identity of his court-appointed attorney was not immedietely released.

State Attorney Bill Eddins said Gonzalez had been cooperative with investigators, but asked that Judge Tom Johnson not lower his bond. Johnson agreed and raised the bond to $500,000, saying $250,000 was not sufficient.

Gonzalez did not speak except to say that he is disabled when asked if he was employed. He will have a court-appointed attorney but Johnson did not say who it will be.

Billings Murders Carried Out With 'Military Precision'

Gonzalez Sr. reportedly told police that he was acting as the getaway driver and waited in the van as Coldiron and his son Gonzalez ransacked the house.

On "Good Morning America" today, Morgan said that the two men suspected of brutally murdering the Billings had carried out their operation with "military precision."

Byrd "Bud" Billings and Melanie Billings of Beulah, Fla., a rural area west of Pensacola, Fla., near the Alabama border, were in their bedroom when they died of multiple gunshot wounds Thursday as their adopted special needs children slept in the house.

Coldiron, a day laborer, turned himself in to police around 9 p.m. Sunday night, Morgan said. Gonzalez was arrested later in Santa Rosa County.

A break in the case came when police discovered most rooms of the house featured video cameras, intended to keep an eye on the special needs children, had captured the alleged criminals' getaway.

Suspects Related Through Family, Friendships

Morgan said that all three of the suspects in custody have criminal pasts that "run the gamut" in severity.

A review of records kept by the Florida Department of Correction by ABC News show that Coldiron served just over a year in 1999 for aggravated battery. It is not yet clear what Gonzalez and Gonzalez Sr.'s criminal history's entail.

According to Morgan, the suspects were related through family and friendships.

Billings Had a Plan in Place In Case They Died

Ashley Markham confirmed that the suspects were not known by the family.

"We do not know the people who have been arrested," said Markham.

Markham said that her parents had a "plan in place" should anything happen to both of them but declined to divulge the details of the arrangement, and would say that the children would "remain together" and that their finances are in order.

Asked where the children are located today, Billings' family spokeswoman Crystal Collins Spencer told ABCNews.com that they are not releasing that information for the safety of the children.

In a 2005 article published in the Pensacola News Journal, the Billings discussed how they had outfitted their home to keep their children safe.

The well-to-do Billings raised adoptees, many born to drug-addicted mothers and some with Down syndrome, along with their four biological children from previous marriages.

The family's driveway had a sensor and the home was "fully alarmed," according to the article in the Pensacola News Journal.

"When a door is opened, a beep is sounded and an adult checked to make sure a child has not stepped out," according to the report.

The outdoor play area is fenced in and there is also a gate around the large swimming pool.

Billings' daughter Markham said that her parent's decision to help disabled children came after her older sister, Nikki, was born with cerebral palsy and was later diagnosed with autism.

"Our parents taught us to love, despite differences in each other," said Markham.