Murder suspect held in Clay County

GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Alex Smart, the man authorities believe is connected to three Orlando slayings, made his first appearance before a judge Tuesday morning in Clay County.

Smart was informed of his charges and will remain held on no bond at the Clay County Jail in Green Cove Springs until he can be taken back to Orlando by local authorities.

The U.S. Marshal’s Florida Regional Task Force reported that the 30-year-old  was wanted on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of second-degree murder. He was arrested Monday afternoon after hiding in an attic of a house in Orange Park.

He is suspected in the July 30 shooting at the Palms Apartments in Orlando.

Court papers say Smart and several friends are accused of trying to punish a teenager they suspected of stealing a large quantity of cocaine. One of the dead was an accomplice of Smart who was shot accidentally by a poorly aimed burst of bullets from an AK-47.