'We about to get ghetto': Pinellas suspects damaged cars, beat elderly man before killing bicyclist: police
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Just an hour before the brutal murder of a Clearwater man in a beach neighborhood, the two suspects involved beat an elderly man in St. Petersburg and damaged vehicles in the area, police said.
The morning after the crime spree, investigators said one texted the other, 'We did it."
Police announced Thursday they arrested a second person in the Clearwater murder: 18-year-old Savonne Morrison. Jermaine Adrian Bennett was arrested soon after 49-year-old Jeffrey Chapman was killed on Oct. 21.
"We are confident [these] two suspects are responsible for this murder," said Deputy Chief Michael Walek, adding that Morrison was out on probation for an armed carjacking.
Booking images for Jermaine Adrian Bennett (left) and Savonne Morrison (right).
Investigators provided a timeline of Morrison and Bennett's actions. At 8:07 p.m. on Oct. 20, Bennett texted Morrison: "We about to get ghetto."
Bennett picked up Morrison in Pasco County at 8:29 p.m. They headed to St. Petersburg, where they recorded video of them bashing windows of cars and trucks with a tire iron. This occurred between 11:09 p.m. and 11:31 p.m. in the Uptown area of the city, explained Assistant Chief Mike Kovacsev with the St. Petersburg police department.
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Walek said detectives are still going through thousands of videos on Bennett's phone.
At 11:35 p.m., they approached an elderly man in St. Pete near Bob's Carpet Mart along 22nd Avenue North. Using the same tire iron, they beat the man, Kovacsev said. The man was hospitalized with broken bones and ribs. He has since been released from the hospital.
At 12:37 a.m., both suspects were in Clearwater Beach when they spotted Chapman on his bicycle, police said. Walek said Morrison shoved the victim off his bike and Bennett beat Chapman. Both fled the area.
At 1:50 a.m., police said Bennett sent the following Instagram message, "I committed two murders tonight."
"I want to make it clear that this was a totally random act," Deputy Chief Walek stated. "The victim was not targeted. It was a chance encounter that turned deadly while the victim was simply trying to ride his bike home."
Clearwater police received a 911 call from a citizen saying they heard a struggle and spotted a "person down." When officers arrived, they found Chapman's body in front of a home with his bicycle in the 700 block of Mandalay Avenue.
"We don’t know why they ended up in Clearwater, but their violent crime spree turned deadly when they beat Jeffrey Chapman to death while he was simply riding his bike," Walek said. "This was a senseless and horrendous crime that has no logical explanation."
Full press conference: Clearwater police announce arrest of 2nd suspect in bicyclist's murder
Nearly two weeks after a bicyclist was brutally murdered with a tire iron in Clearwater beach, police announced the arrest of a second suspect. Investigators say the pair beat an elderly man in St. Pete, hours before the murder, and called themselves 'legends' for committing the horrific crimes.
At 11:07 a.m., Bennett texted Morrison a news article about the murder: "We did it." Five minutes later, he wrote, "Lol damn they shut down Clearwater."
Nine minutes later: "Legends."
Within 24 hours, police arrested Bennett. They said he confessed to attacking Chapman more than 10 times with the tire iron.
Walek said that Bennett told detectives he did it because the "ills of society had gotten to him." Investigators are still trying to determine if any event triggered the men's actions that day. Bennett went to work at Insight Family Eye Care in Wesley Chapel shortly after the murder and showed no remorse for his actions, officials said.
He said that the pair went to Clearwater for unknown reasons and Chapman happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both suspects were arrested in Pasco County. Bennett was booked in Pinellas County Jail last week, while Morrison will be transferred "in the coming day."
"This is a very random act in that area of Clearwater Beach," Walek stated. "This type of activity does not occur."
Police have yet to identify all the owners of the vehicles that were damaged. Anyone with information on any cases regarding Bennett and Morrison is asked to call Clearwater police at 727-562-4242.