SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Talil M. Vann, an inmate from Seminole County, has been accused of conspiring to murder his young victim, the prosecutor, and the detective handling his sexual battery case.
Vann allegedly intended to hire a hit man from within the county jail, using secret codes to convey his plans. The supposed hit man was actually an undercover deputy from the Seminole County sheriff’s office, who was alerted by a confidential informant.
“At times like these, we are grateful for our close working relationship with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office,” said Assistant State Attorney Dan Faggard.
Sheriff Dennis Lemma stated, “This case reveals the extreme and calculated measures Mr. Vann was willing to take to avoid justice, even from inside the correctional facility.”
Vann, 24, is charged with three counts of solicitation to commit first-degree murder and one count of solicitation to tamper with a witness, with each charge carrying a penalty of life imprisonment.
He was already facing life in prison for charges of sexual battery of a child younger than 12 and using a child in a sexual performance.
Sheriff’s investigators discovered Vann’s plot in May when he asked a fellow inmate to set up the attacks and offered a BMW as payment. The undercover deputy received coded instructions from Vann via mail and jail email, with phrases like “birds are beautiful” meaning to kill the prosecutor.
Vann provided extensive personal details about the young victim, such as phone numbers and social media accounts, and instructed the operative to conceal his identity during surveillance of the detective. A search of Vann’s jail cell revealed written plans and codes.
Vann was taken into custody on the new charges at the Seminole County jail, and the State Attorney’s Office has asked for him to be held without bond. His arraignment is set for September 16.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
©2025 Cox Media Group
