POLK CITY, Fla. — A 56-year-old man was joined in prayer with a Polk County deputy moments before he was arrested Sunday morning, authorities say.
John Skeen had a warrant out of Hillsborough County for shooting and killing a man, who deputies say was his friend, on March 10 at a home in Ruskin during a fishing trip, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.
After learning that he may have been inside a church in Polk City, deputies arrived at the place of worship and were able to get Skeen out of the building without disrupting the service, law enforcement says.
While outside with authorities, the 56-year-old reportedly asked a sergeant if he could go back inside the church for the rest of the service and "dedicate his life to the Lord before going to jail."
Although he was denied, the sergeant told Skeen that they can pray together outside before he gets booked, deputies say. Once they finished praying, Skeen was taken to jail.
"One more interesting note about this story is that this particular church had a guest speaker at that service—Sheriff Grady Judd," the sheriff's office wrote in the post.
On Friday, John Skeen and two of his friends were staying at a home on Manatee Drive, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said. The three went to a local bar that same evening and when they later returned to the home, an argument erupted between Skeen and the man killed, authorities say.
During the argument, the 56-year-old allegedly pulled out a gun and shot his friend, deputies say.
Skeen was arrested and charged with murder with a firearm in Polk County.