CLEARWATER, Fla. — Two men went on a crime spree, beating an elderly man and smashing random cars in St. Pete before killing a bicyclist with a tire iron in Clearwater, according to police.
Clearwater Police Deputy Chief Michael Walek gave the details of what he called a "senseless and horrendous" crime on Thursday while announcing the second arrest made in the case.
The police department launched an investigation after 49-year-old Jeffrey (Jeff) Chapman was found dead around 12:37 a.m. on Oct. 21 on a Clearwater Beach sidewalk. Chapman was riding his bike home.
The next day, police arrested 26-year-old Jermaine Bennett after they say he admitted to the killing and "showed no remorse."
Bennett was charged with first-degree murder.
On Tuesday, a second man, 18-year-old Savonne Morrison, was arrested in connection to the murder. He is charged with principal to first-degree murder.
Walek said Morrison jumped out of the car on Mandalay Avenue and pushed Chapman off of his bike while Bennett beat him “with a long metal tool similar to a tire iron."
“While our detectives continue to investigate this senseless crime, we are confident we have in custody the two suspects responsible for this murder," Walek said.
At a Thursday night vigil for Chapman, friends described him as a free spirit who loved to travel and had a soft spot for animals.
Chapman was a native of Bangor, Maine, but spent the fall and summer months on the beach in Clearwater.
"Such a pure soul. When you think salt of the earth, you think of Jeff," a friend of his said. "Just a generous, giving heart."
According to the deputy chief, attacking Chapman was not the first crime the pair committed that evening.
“Their crime spree began in St. Petersburg with a series of criminal mischief using the same object that would later become the murder weapon," he said.
During the news conference, police shared videos that Bennett and Morrison reportedly took of each other smashing random cars with a metal tool in the Historic Uptown neighborhood.
Bennett and Morrison then beat an elderly man and left him in the street near 22nd Avenue, according to Walek. Police say that man suffered broken bones and ribs but is recovering in the hospital.
This happened about an hour before the pair drove to Clearwater and killed Chapman, police explained.
"This was a senseless and horrendous crime that has no logical explanation," Walek said.
He said investigators discovered text messages between Bennett and Morrison; in one text "their very own words connect them to the murder in Clearwater."
That message, according to Walek, involved Morrison texting Bennett a link to a news story about Chapman's death to which Bennett responded "LOL" and referred to the pair as "legends."
“They are not legends," Walek said." They are despicable criminals who will face the consequences for their actions in the criminal justice system. They took a good man form his family and his friends way too soon."
When asked why he committed the crimes, Bennett reportedly told police it was "the ills of society" that plagued him.
You can watch the full news conference below.