TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - After a brief stand off, the Leon County Sheriff's Office has arrested Jesse Fox, 29, in connection with the homicide of Hoyt Birge.
According to a probable cause document, Fox was present when Hoyt Birge and his friend Peter arrived at the house on Mission Road on May 9.
The document said that Fox ran away after Birge was shot. Patrick Berrane, who had the rifle that killed Birge, told police that Fox jumped the back fence to escape.
When first interviewed, Fox told police that he had contacted Page Briggs on that day to buy drugs. At the time, Briggs had told him that is wasn't a good time and that he couldn't talk.
The document said that 15 minutes later, Briggs called Fox to come to his house. Fox told police that he saw that something had happened, but did not explain what he saw.
On Wednesday, deputies spoke with Fox's family, who said they spoke with him on several different occasions after the murder.
They said Fox told them that he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time".
Fox told them that he had contacted Briggs to buy drugs, but was told it wasn't a good time. About 15 minutes later, he called Briggs again but this time, Briggs told him that he was in the middle of something.
Fox then asked him if he needed help, and Briggs accepted. When Fox got to Briggs' house, Briggs told him that Hoyt Birge was planning to rob him and that he was planning to rob Birge first.
Fox told his family that Birge gave him a gun and they went out to the backyard. He said he stayed there while the other four (Page Briggs, Patrick Berrane, David Howard, and Stanley West) ran into the house.
The document said that Fox heard some commotion and looked through a window to see the men beating Birge with a hammer and baseball bat. Not long after, Fox said he heard a gunshot.
His family said that he told them that he then went inside and asked what happened and that he saw Birge laying on the ground.
After, Fox ran out the house and jumped the fence, running away. He later returned to pick up Briggs, and Paige Vowell.
After different interviews with Fox's family, deputies were able to uncover that there were rumors that Fox had the guns that were used in the incident and that he was trying to sell them out of town.
Police say that Fox was arrested after a brief stand-off.
Fox was charged with being an accessory to a capital felony. He has been transported to the Leon County Jail.
