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The Tallahassee Police Department has made a breakthrough in a cold case that dates back almost 50 years.
James Dudley Jr. has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder under a sealed indictment.
Prosecutors have not released details on how they solved the case, but they have confirmed that the victim was Richard Stanley Moore, who was killed in 1976.
Moore, a 68-year-old clerk at Sasser’s Beer City on Basin Street, was murdered in December 1976.
According to archives from the Tallahassee Democrat, Moore was shot once in the head with a .22 caliber pistol during a robbery and left to die in the beer cooler.
At the time, a $1,000 reward was offered for information, but the case remained unsolved for decades.
Moore was remembered as a beloved figure in the community— a father, a husband, a friend, and someone who cooked hamburgers on a hot plate in the back room to feed the neighborhood and those in need.
"The kindest man you'd ever want to meet . . . there was nothing he wouldn't do for you," a friend told the Democrat in a front-page story from December 30, 1976.
Before working at Sasser’s Beer City, Moore was known as the former owner of Tempo, a pizza parlor where his warmth and kindness were as much on the menu as the food.
In the early 1970s, Moore and his wife sold the Tempo, and he later became a clerk at the small food and beer store owned by Max Sasser.
An employee from a neighboring store described him as a friend to every customer and well-acquainted with the local policemen who worked tirelessly to find his killer.
"He was an old Tallahassee man. He knew everybody, and he didn't know any strangers," said TPD Sgt. Ben Rozar at the time.
Rozar recalled how Moore once took a hungry 12-year-old customer to a local restaurant and bought him a meal.
Moore’s murder was the only fatality in a series of armed robberies that plagued local businesses in 1976, leading to an extensive search for suspects.
Details from the Democrat’s story the day after the murder describe the early investigation.
At 11:20 a.m., a customer found the store empty and called the police.
When they arrived, they found Moore face down in the walk-in beer cooler at the back of the store.
He had been shot once in the back of the head with a .22 caliber pistol and was taken to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, where he later died.
"We believe it happened around 11 a.m.," said Rozar. "We know he was all right at 10:45."
Witnesses saw a man leaving the store around that time, described as being in his early 20s, black, and wearing a brown knit cap.
"We have reason to suspect he (Moore) could have identified the man who robbed him Wednesday," said TPD spokesman Carl Swanson.
"That's probably why he was shot."
Moore had reportedly told friends he knew the identities of the men who had previously robbed him.
"This time I'll be ready for them," he had said.
The man who killed Moore stole a small amount of cash, shot him, and drove away in Moore’s car, which was later found on Alabama Street.
Police dogs led officers from the car to a house on Woodward Street, where they detained a suspect matching the description.
However, the man was released.
Fast forward 47 years:
On Thursday, State Attorney Jack Campbell issued an order for Dudley’s arrest, which was circulated to sheriff's offices throughout Florida.
Dudley Jr. was eventually arrested near the Kearney Center homeless shelter by a member of TPD's fugitive task force.
"Dudley Jr. was taken into custody without incident and searched," court records state.
"No contraband was located during the search."
He was then taken to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement headquarters for questioning.
At his first public appearance in Leon County Court, a public defender was appointed to him, and the judge ordered that he be held without bond.
Dudley has a criminal record dating back to 1992, including charges for drugs, armed robbery, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
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