Sergeant Nicholas G. Sottile, 48, was killed on January 12, 2007, during a routine traffic stop on U.S. 27 north of Lake Placid, Florida. According to reports, one occupant of the stopped vehicle produced a handgun and shot Sergeant Sottile in the chest. He managed to notify dispatchers after being wounded and was taken to Florida Hospital Lake Placid, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later.

The assailants fled but were apprehended the next morning after a manhunt. The shooter was identified as 19-year-old Joshua Lee Altersberger. Court material described the killing as premeditated and execution-type; Altersberger pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and later tried to withdraw that plea. The case record notes testimony from eyewitnesses, including a truck driver who saw the shooting. Sergeant Sottile had served 24 years and is survived by his wife, son, and daughter.

If anyone has information about Sergeant Sottile, the traffic stop, or the events on U.S. 27 that night, please share what is known.