ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Police made an arrest after a man was found dead inside a garage Tuesday afternoon in St. Pete.
Jeffery Tillman, 38, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 65-year-old Deno Conley, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Officers were called around 1:20 p.m. to a home on 38th Street North near 34th Avenue North. They were called for what a spokesperson described only as "a suspicious circumstance."
“We had received several calls from people who knew them and they asked us to check on the house," said Ken Knight with the police department.
Knight says when officers arrived, they found Conley dead in the garage.
“Right now the investigation is continuing and we have no information on any kind of motive or anything at this point," he said.
Police said Tillman had been hired by the owner of the home and was working on renovations at the house. Conley and Tillman were described as longtime acquaintances.
On Tuesday, Conley went to see Tillman and Tillman stabbed him, according to police. Tillman was later found in Clearwater and was arrested Tuesday evening with the assistance of the Clearwater Police Department.
"We got to the house and we found a man deceased inside the garage," said Yolanda Fernandez, a spokesperson with the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Neighbors said they have seen police at the home before.
"We have a lot of questions, too. We are not sure what the man was doing in the home. We know the home was under renovation with workers in and out. We’re not sure why he was there or what his relation to the house is," said Fernandez at the time Tuesday.
10 Tampa Bay found out the owners of the house did get the court's permission to evict people in November 2021. It's unclear if those people were still living in the house.