DOB: 04/24/1997

Case Number: 2020 102282 CFDL

Young Guns Defendant Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Murder, Robbery

DELAND – During a hearing this morning, Young Guns defendant Zachariah Sanders was sentenced to 50 years in prison. He entered a no-contest plea earlier this month to Second-Degree Murder (Firearm), Robbery with a Firearm and Tampering with Physical Evidence.

On March 19, 2020, Volusia Sheriff’s deputies responded to a vehicle fire in DeLand. A victim was found dead in the driver’s seat. The medical examiner ruled that the victim died from gunshot wounds to the neck and head, not burn injuries.

Almost a month later, Sanders’ co-defendants, Cameron Lane and Fredryonna Grimes, were involved in a separate shooting in DeLand. They were arrested by the DeLand Police Department and charged with Attempted First-Degree Murder in that case. They were both sentenced to 20 years in prison for the crime.

On May 20, 2020, a witness, who was a passenger in the first victim’s vehicle the morning he was murdered, came forward to VSO investigators. He told them that he saw Sanders and his two co-defendants shoot the victim and then go through the vehicle’s trunk. The witnesses’ description of the shooting was corroborated by physical evidence not released to the public.

Investigators continued to gather additional evidence before Sanders, Lane and Grimes were indicted on October 28, 2020. Sanders was only 22 years old at the time of the murder.

“Another Young Guns defendant off the streets. Maybe the next twenty-something contemplating violence will take notice of this 50-year sentence,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about this case. “I believe that ridding our community of folks like the defendant creates an opportunity for better and safer days ahead.”

The Volusia Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak successfully prosecuted the case for the state. The Honorable Kathleen McNeilly presided over the case and pronounced sentence.

Grimes and Lane have also entered pleas in this case. Lane was sentenced to 48 years in prison, and Grimes to 40 years.