Published on Saturday, January 13, 2007
in the Tampa Bay 10 News

Two men being held in the Highlands County Jail after fatal shooting of trooper

Lake Placid, Florida - Sgt. Nicholas Sottile was a popular face in Highlands County. He's described as an amazing trooper, as well as, a good husband and father, someone with a sense of humor. Sam Weaver says Sgt. Sottile often visited the Lake Placid Family Restaurant, “I've watched his children grow up, along with my children, my grand children it's a sad day for us, it really is.”

Sgt. Sottile had made traffic stops for the last 24-years. But on Friday it was the stop on Hwy. 27 that took his life. Investigators say 19-year-old Joshua Altersberger shot Sgt. Sottile in the upper part of his chest. Passenger Quintin Kinder ran out of the car and into an orange grove, right before the shooting, realizing Altersberger was about to use his gun on the trooper. Kinder later turned himself in.

Since Sgt. Sottile did not call in a license plate number before stopping the car, investigators got help from witnesses in tracking down the alleged shooter. A woman named Shyne says Altersberger came to visit her son in Sebring after the shooting, “They were hanging out last night and this kid started bragging about it. Started bragging about it and some of the kids got together and my son and they all called police.” She says it was a parent who actually notified authorities about Altersberger, “He was always so quiet and polite I would have never thought he would have done anything like this never.”

It's being called a senseless death by residents and Florida Highway Patrol leaders like Colonel Christopher Knight, “He was an excellent trooper it's a great loss for this agency.”

Sam says it's also a loss to the public he helped protect, “Everybody needs to pray for Nick's family, that's all they need right now. Tell all your family members that you love them, because you don't know...it could happen to you.”

Altersberger was arrested in 2004 for possession of drugs within 1,000 feet of a school. Altersberger is charged with first degree murder. Kinder is charged with trespassing. Both make a first appearance in court on Sunday.