This story was updated to add new information and photos.
FORT PIERCE — A jury Tuesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of recommending Eriese Tisdale be put to death for killing St. Lucie County Sheriff's Sgt. Gary Morales in 2013.
It took the panel of seven women and five men less than five hours to return a vote of 9 to 3 in recommending Tisdale be executed. The vote followed nearly three hours of closing arguments from prosecutors and the defense.
For a judge to impose the death penalty, the sentence had to be recommended by a supermajority, or at least an 8-to- 4 vote by jurors. Circuit Judge Lawrence Mirman will impose the final punishment during a hearing on Oct. 29.
Tisdale, 37, showed no reaction when a clerk read aloud the verdict to a courtroom filled with relatives of Gary Morales, including his parents, brothers, wife Holly and two daughters.
Several St. Lucie sheriff’s deputies were also in court to see the verdict returned shortly before 5 p.m.
On Feb. 28, 2013, Tisdale, then 25, armed with a Glock handgun, fired seven times at Morales during a traffic stop in Fort Pierce, striking the sergeant in the head, neck and arm.
Morales, 35, was found dead inside his patrol car on Naylor Terrace, south of Edwards Road. He was belted to his seat and never fired his weapon.
Prosecutors told jurors Tisdale murdered Morales to avoid being arrested because he was driving with a suspended driver’s license and had a loaded gun in the car.
Another sentencing, same result
It’s the second time a jury has recommended Tisdale be put to death.
In 2015, a different panel of seven women and five men convicted him of first-degree murder of a police officer and other felonies. He was sentenced to death after the same jury voted 9 to 3 in favor of it, but his sentence was later overturned on appeal.
Tisdale was being housed on Florida’s death row when the Florida Supreme Court in 2018 ruled he must receive a new penalty phase proceeding because of changes in state law that at the time required a jury to vote unanimously in favor of death before a judge could impose the sentence.
After court Tuesday, State Attorney Tom Bakkedahl, who prosecuted Tisdale in 2015, said he was “somewhat shocked” any jurors voted in favor of recommending Tisdale serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“Law enforcement is under attack in this country, and we need to take a stand. Hopefully this case will send a message to the community, not only in our circuit, but across the state, that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated against law enforcement,” Bakkedahl said. “We're going to seek the stiffest penalties, and we're going to seek death.”
Outside of court, Morales’ loved ones hugged, and thanked prosecutors for their work during a week of jury selection and 10 days of testimony.
Gary Morales’ brother Ken Morales said the family was “happy” with the verdict.
“This was like a kick in the gut again, doing this all over. So, we're happy now that it’s over,” he said. “I didn't have a doubt that it would come to this verdict again.”
His family hopes it’s the last time they see Tisdale in court, he said.
“These past three weeks have been a lot of emotion, bringing up a lot of everything that we wanted to leave behind and remember the good stuff with Gary,” he said. “It's been a rollercoaster, doing this all over again … It was rough and I hope we don't have to do this again.”
After Mirman imposes Tisdale’s sentence, it will automatically be appealed to the Florida Supreme Court.
'Took job seriously'
Tisdale’s lead attorney, Assistant Public Defender Stanley Glenn said while they were disappointed the jury recommended a death sentence, “we believe that the jury was given all the facts necessary to reach a decision regarding the appropriate sentence.”
“The jury split of 9 to 3 and the amount of time it took to reach a verdict tells us that the jury took the job seriously and that they understood the gravity of the proceedings,” Glenn said.
Tisdale’s mother, Charmaine Tisdale left court without commenting.
His jury heard from defense mental health and medical experts who described his troubled childhood, including being born to a cocaine-addicted mother that later resulted in brain damage.
Tisdale’s defense team called to the stand Tisdale’s mother, his maternal aunt, the woman he was living with in February 2013 and his young son, who was born after Morales’ murder.
Over three days, the defense presented testimony from a neuroscientist, a pharmacologist, a neuropsychologist and a neuroimaging specialist to address the extreme mental and emotional disturbance Tisdale was experiencing at the time of Morales' murder.
Jurors were told Tisdale was raised by a single mom in Palm Beach County and his father was in prison. In his teen years, two people close to him were murdered by gunfire and after that he started carrying a gun. He was anxious, had an addiction to marijuana and feared police, jurors were told.
Tisdale did not testify.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson, who was at the courthouse when the verdict was read, said Tisdale is getting the punishment he deserves.
“Our community, through the jurors selected, elected to impose the death penalty to Tisdale. If anyone's deserving of that, it's him,” Pearson said. “Our deputies go out there every single day and put their lives on the line. Let this be a clear message … that the state of Florida, we have the death penalty. We have great prosecutors that are going to use it, and our system works.”
Old Stuart High School: Work begun on central place for artists and makers in Martin County
Opinion: Stuart's loss on Brightline station should be Fort Pierce's gain
Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of " Uncertain Terms ," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com . If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Jury recommends death for killer of St. Lucie County Sheriff's Sgt. Gary Morales in 2013
Local News
