3 more men charged in drive-by shooting death of toddler at Fort Lauderdale birthday party

FORT LAUDERDALE — Jerrold Pough clutched a stuffed Build-a-Bear in a Batman costume tightly, cherishing it because when he pressed its right hand, it played a recording of his 3-year-old grandson looking forward to church.

“Hallelujah,” the boy in the recording said. “Amen!”

The little boy, Rylo Yancy, was killed last July while he was on the playground at a child’s birthday party in Riverland Park. Pough and other members of the boy’s family were at Fort Lauderdale Police Department headquarters Thursday to hear detectives and the chief of police announce the arrests of three additional men whose alleged role in a drive-by shooting missed the target but ended the life of the sweet-voiced child.

“That’s how I live my life,” Pough said, his tears reflecting those of other family members who attended the news conference but declined to speak. “Through the memories of my baby.”

Andrew St. Louis and Tommie Allen, both 19, and Antonio Carter, whose 20th birthday is Thursday, were each charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder with a firearm. They were indicted Sept. 10.

Carter and Allen are at the Broward Main Jail. St. Louis is in custody and awaiting extradition from Tennessee.

Pough called them what police called them: “Cowards” whose conflict took an innocent child’s life.

“Those men chose to be there,” said Sgt. Don Geiger. They chose to use deadly force to resolve their conflict. “Rylo did not.”

The three men join Tyler Tyrone Hollins, 20, of Lauderdale Lakes, who was indicted in March on charges of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a delinquent. The same day, prosecutors charged Thaddeus Squire III, 23, of Oakland Park, with one count of accessory after the fact, according to court records. Squire aided Hollins in carrying out the July 21 shooting, according to the charging document and officer accounts, by driving one of the cars while Hollins fired the gun.

There appeared to be no indication that Hollin provided any information that led to the identity of the other suspects in the case.

Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Bill Schultz said the men were identified by a combination of determined investigation and the cooperation of members of the community who came forward.

“It is our hope that these arrests will bring some measure of peace and closure to you and to our community,” Schultz said.

About 4:30 p.m. on July 21, a crowd of adults and toddlers had gathered for another child’s birthday party when more than 20 gunshots erupted from a passing car, sending them running, officials say. Rylo was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

Hollins and Squire have both pleaded not guilty.

‘My dawgs did that’

During a deposition for Hollins’ case, a woman said that Squire, who goes by T3, had driven her to work at Flanagan’s for her 4 p.m. shift, just before the shooting. When he picked her up in a black Mercedes, she noticed that Hollins, who she did not know at the time, was in the back seat.

At one point, the car pulled up to a stoplight next to two other people in a red Mercedes, she said. She realized that Hollins had a gun, and he and the people in the other car were “flashing guns, making jokes, oh, I’ll shoot you,” she recalled, making her feel uncomfortable.

Law enforcement officers have said that a 2022 red Mercedes-Benz sedan and a 2017 black Mercedes-Benz sedan are believed to have been involved in the shooting.

A few days after the shooting, the woman said Squire called her and told her “my dawgs did that,” according to the deposition. He said that “they were trying to get a person … who they had beef with or whatever, and it hit the baby instead of the person they were trying to get,” she said. The men had gone to the birthday party after their intended target had posted on Instagram that he was there.

The woman said she had identified Squire in a lineup and has since stopped talking to him.

A Fort Lauderdale police officer said in another deposition that he had interviewed Squire, who was in the back of a patrol car, the day of the shooting. Squire told him that he had been renting the black Mercedes that was connected to the shooting but his friends had borrowed it between 3 and 5 p.m. that day. He then gave them the names of three friends.

Police released him that day, lacking enough evidence to tie him to the shooting, according to the deposition.

Then, months later, Squire was arrested again on a theft warrant. During an interview at the Fort Lauderdale Police headquarters, officers showed him pictures and videos of him in the black Mercedes, the officer said in the deposition. Squire then admitted to being the driver of the car while Hollins fired the weapon.

He said they had received information that an “opp” was at the park and they had decided to shoot at them while they were there.

After receiving this information, police still did not arrest Squire, the officer said, because they wanted to work towards getting warrants for the other suspects.

This is a developing story, so check back for updates. Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.

Originally Published: September 25, 2025 at 12:26 PM EDT