BARTOW, Fla. -- Joshua Lee Altersberger and Quintin Jerome Kinder appeared at the hearing before Polk County Judge Mary Catherine Green by video from the Highlands County Jail.
Altersberger, 19, of Sebring, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Sgt. Nicholas Sottile. Kinder, 21, of Bainbridge, Ga., is charged with trespassing in a cultivated grove.
Authorities have said Kinder fled on foot into an orange grove after Sottile stopped their vehicle Friday. Altersberger shot Sottile, 48, in the chest after the trooper called for backup, then fled the scene, according to FHP.
Both men were arrested Saturday.
The after-hours recording at the county public defender’s office would not accept incoming messages Sunday night.
Sottile’s funeral will be held Tuesday in Sebring.