Antonio McNeal, charged with murder of Sharon Sewell, now charged with having sex with minor

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — After the death of Sharon Sewell on Oct. 30, 28-year-old Antonio McNeal had sex with an underage girl, according to an arrest affidavit released Wednesday.

McNeal was charged Monday with Sewell's murder.

The father of three children called a 17-year-old girl from the Indian River County Jail after his arrest Nov. 9 for violating probation from state prison, records showed.

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According to the arrest affidavit, on Oct. 30, McNeal took Sewell, 53, to a store in southern Brevard County to pick up a doctor's prescription for 90 pain pills. That night, Sewell was found dead on a rural, unpaved section of 61st Street, off 66th Avenue.

She was shot in the back of the head, records showed.

McNeal was wearing a court-ordered GPS locator sheriff's investigators said linked him to Sewell's death.

Monday, McNeal, of Sebastian, and his cousin, Egbert Taylor, 20, of Gifford, were arrested on charges of murder, armed robbery and tampering with evidence.

More: Motorist runs into woman's body on rural Indian River County road Oct. 30

While investigating the homicide, detectives found McNeal called a 17-year-old girl the day Sewell died.

When interviewed, the girl said "she had been dating McNeal since his release from state prison May 1" and said they had sex three times, reports said.

On Nov. 14, investigators listened to her call to him in jail.

He "admitted to having sex with the girl .... told her he did not want to get into trouble ... because you are not 18."

The conversation ended with McNeal asking her for pictures of her and that he wanted to resume intimate relations after getting out of jail.

Both McNeal and Taylor are being held without bail in the Indian River County Jail. Tuesday, McNeal was charged with three counts of having sex with a minor.

Murder investigation

Sheriff's investigators continue looking into the murder case.

According to the arrest affidavits in Sewell's death, each man said the other shot Sewell after stopping on 61st Street, pretending the car was overheating the night of Oct. 30.

Later, the pills Sewell got in Brevard County were sold in Gifford for about $600 and Sewell's purse was burned, according to reports.

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After McNeal's initial arrest for probation violation, he filled out court papers stating he has three children and no income or savings. He still owes the courts $54.50 from a prior court case.

Background

McNeal served four years in state prison and his criminal record in Indian River County dates to 2007, when he was 17, unemployed and living in Gifford.

In 2007, two youths were trying to sell a .22-caliber rifle in Gifford and stopped to ask a stranger for directions. McNeal offered to help them and got in the car with them the night of June 10. Along the way, he showed them a pistol.

When they stopped at the Orangewood Apartments, McNeal walked off with their rifle. When they challenged him, McNeal replied, "What are you going to do .... This is mine."

He later was arrested and found guilty as an adult of grand theft of a firearm.

When he was 24, McNeal was arrested and convicted on drug and grand theft charges in 2013. That led to his being sent to state prison.

He sold two stolen cars to a metal recycling company.

Around the same time, McNeal was arrested on charges of possession and sale of cocaine to an undercover officer in the area of 84th Street and 64th Avenue.

In October 2014, he was found guilty in those cases and sentenced to prison for four years, records showed.

Timeline

2007: Arrested for robbery with a deadly weapon and grand theft firearm in Gifford. He was found guilty of grand theft firearm. Prosecutors dropped the robbery charge.

2008: Arrested for burglary of a dwelling and third-degree grand theft. He was judged guilty on both charges and sentenced to a year in county jail. After released, he was found in violation of his probation.

2013: Arrested for two counts of grand theft of a motor vehicle and two counts of providing false information to a scrap yard. In a separate case, he was arrested for sale and possession of cocaine. He was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to state prison in 2014.

May: Released from state prison and required to wear a GPS monitor to show his location.

Oct. 30: Surveillance video shows him at a pharmacy in south Brevard County with Sharon Sewell.

Oct. 30, 7 p.m.: A motorist finds Sewell's body on 61st Street, north of Vero Beach.

Nov. 9: Arrested for violation of probation in Indian River County. Put in county jail.

Nov. 14: Investigators record a phone call between McNeal and a teenage girl.

Nov. 27: Arrested on charges of murdering Sewell, armed robbery and tampering with evidence.

Nov. 28: Charged with three counts of sexual activity with a minor, a 17-year-old girl.

Source: Indian River County Clerk of Court