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US News

Florida man says he beat cyclist to death due to ‘the ills of society’

By
Yaron Steinbuch
Published Oct. 24, 2022
Updated Oct. 24, 2022, 11:17 a.m. ET

A Florida man has confessed to killing a bicyclist — blaming “the ills of society” for bashing him with a tire iron more than 10 times in the random attack.

Jermaine Adrian Bennett was charged with first-degree murder in the brutal death of 49-year-old Jeffrey Chapman in Clearwater on Friday morning, Fox 13 News reported.

Deputy Police Chief Michael Walek said Bennett told detectives he killed Chapman because the “ills of society had gotten to him.”

“I want to make it clear that this was a totally random act. The victim was not targeted. It was a chance encounter that turned deadly while the victim was simply trying to ride his bike home,” Walek said.

Police are still searching for a second suspect in the homicide, said the deputy chief, who urged the man to turn himself in.

Accused murderer Jermaine Adrian Bennett
Jermaine Adrian Bennett was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly killing a cyclist because of “the ills of society.” Clearwater Police Department
Site of cyclist's fatal beating in Florida
Jermaine Adrian Bennett and another suspect allegedly targeted Jeffrey Chapman, 49, randomly in Clearwater. FOX 13 News

“It’s only a matter of time until we get you,” Walek said.

After the heinous crime, Bennett went to his job at Insight Family Eye Care in Wesley Chapel. He was arrested based on surveillance video and tips about his vehicle.

Walek said the victim happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when the two men went to Clearwater for unknown reasons.

Investigators learned about a similar incident that occurred about an hour earlier in St. Petersburg, where the victim was not killed, according to Fox 13 News.

Police in both jurisdictions are looking into whether the two crimes are related.