A suspect in a 2019 murder has been taken into custody at an Oxford complex.
Darrell Devon Bogle, 26, of Leesburg, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Winter Garden resident Michael Majed Kotait, 61, whose body was recovered in Wildwood in 2019. The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office decided Kotait’s death was due to homicidal violence.
Just before the corpse was recovered, the Wildwood Police Department received a complaint of a car submerged in water at the Lake Deaton Boat Ramp. The unoccupied car was a white Honda SUV, registered to Kotait.
Sumter County sheriff’s deputies were conducting surveillance Monday night at The Mark Apartments in Oxford when they noticed Bogle, who was sought on a Sumter County warrant for murder.
They promptly apprehended him and found a stolen 9mm handgun hidden in his waistband. Additionally, a considerable amount of cocaine and other contraband was discovered in his vehicle during his detention. Bogle was found in possession of 218.77 grams of methamphetamine, 136.54 grams of fentanyl, 8.47 grams of oxycodone prescription pills, 15.64 grams of crack cocaine, 693.22 grams of THC wax, 1233.32 grams of marijuana, and 40 packs of Suboxone (a Schedule III narcotic), as well as a digital scale, rifle ammunition, and other drug paraphernalia.
Detectives want to underline that, while an arrest has been made, this is still an ongoing investigation since they do not believe Darrell Bogle committed the crime alone. The Florida Sheriff’s Association’s Criminal Apprehension Assistance Program has agreed to provide an additional $5,000 reward, in addition to a $5,000 Crime Line reward, for information leading to the identification of the person(s) responsible for Michael Kotait’s murder. This takes the total award amount to $10,000.
If you have any information about this case, please contact Detective John Knight or Sergeant Larry Thompson of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office at 352-793-2621, or to remain anonymous, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
