Friends To Remember Man Slain In Clearwater Beach As Arrest Announced

CLEARWATER, FL — A second man has been arrested on murder charges for taking part in a random attack that left a bicyclist dead, beaten to death with a tire iron as he rode home, officials said. While family and friends thanked police for the arrests, they prepared to remember their friend, who they called the "best of the best."

During a news conference Thursday, Clearwater police Deputy Chief Michael Walek said Savonne Morrison, 18, of Land O' Lakes was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder in the beating death of 49-year-old bicyclist Jeffrey Chapman on Oct. 21 on Clearwater Beach.

In a crime that Walek described as "heinous and very violent," Chapman was found dead near 719 Mandalay Ave. by a passerby who called 911 just after 12:30 a.m.

Clearwater police obtained surveillance video of the car driven by Chapman's attackers, leading to the arrest of 26-year-old Jermaine Adrian Bennett of Tampa on Oct. 22. Bennett was arrested by Pasco County sheriff's deputies while he was at work in Wesley Chapel.

See related story: Bicyclist Beaten To Death With Tire Iron In Clearwater; Arrest Made

Walek said Bennett, who is also charged with first-degree murder, admitted to randomly bludgeoning Chapman more than 10 times with a tire iron when he rode by on his bicycle.

“It was a chance encounter that turned deadly while the victim was simply trying to ride his bike home," Walek said. “During the interview, (Bennett) showed no remorse for the killing. He even said, in fact, that he’d been waiting all day for us to show up — went right to work shortly after doing this, no remorse at all."

Walek said detectives believed Bennett had an accomplice and that the two were responsible for a similar incident in St. Petersburg in which an elderly man was beaten with a tire iron near the Wawa on 22nd Avenue in St. Petersburg and left “battered in the street” about an hour before Chapman was killed. The St. Petersburg man was hospitalized following the attack.

The deputy chief said two men also used a tire iron to damage several vehicles. Video of the vehicles being smashed with a tire iron was released at the news conference.

He said the two men embarked on a crime spree that night “using the same object that would later become the murder weapon.”

Prior to the crime spree, Walek said Bennett sent Morrison a text message saying, “We are about to get ghetto.” After Chapman was killed, he sent another message to Morrison linked to a news story on the attack, saying, "We did it." And in a third text message, Bennett commented, "LOL, damn, they shut down Clearwater."

He said detectives believe Morrison pushed Chapman off his bike before Bennett beat him with the tire iron. Morrison, he said, has a history of violent crime, and was on felony probation for armed carjacking when he was arrested by the Pasco County Sheriff's Office Tuesday and booked into the Pasco County jail.

Morrison will be moved to the Pinellas County Jail in the near future, Walek said.

Walek said homicide detectives worked tirelessly during the past two weeks to bring Chapman's killers to justice. With Thursday's announcement of Morrison's arrest, he said Clearwater detectives are confident they have arrested those responsible for Chapman's death.

The announcement of Morrison's arrest comes on the same day Chapman's friends and family have planned a sunset tribute for him at the Regatta Beach Club condominiums, 808 Mandalay Ave., where he lived.

The tribute will take place at 6:45 p.m. Those attending should arrive between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., said Liz Colston, who lives in the condominium complex and is helping to organize the tribute. Dunedin musician Brian Caudill will perform at that time.

Colston described Chapman, who divided his time between his home in Maine and Clearwater Beach, as "the sweetest, most kind, under-the-radar, low-key friend."

"For the life of me, I don’t understand why things like this happen," she said, publicly thanking the Clearwater police on her Facebook page for bringing Chapman's attackers to justice. "North Clearwater Beach is a sleepy, quiet, well-patrolled area."

"Jeffrey was an incredible human being," said friend Lisa Owens. "The best of the best. The only truly selfless person I’d ever met."

Chapman's daughter posted a tribute to her father on the Clearwater Beach Association's Facebook page.

"My dad was a Maine man by heart but a piece of him loved the beach and the town of Clearwater. He was old and wise and had a humble and giving soul. His dry sense of humor would have you laughing all the time. He always valued the importance of laughter and happiness to try and make sense of this cruel and senseless world that is. He truly loved Clearwater. Caladesi was his sanctuary down there. He walked the beach and rode his bike every chance he could to feel the warm ocean breeze and take as many sunset pictures as he could. He was an outdoorsman and enjoyed every second in nature, a true hippie by heart. He skied the mountains of the west in the winters and enjoyed the summers and fall of Maine with his kids. He did so much good in this world for his clients and people close to him. He had the answer to everything and was so wise beyond his years and enjoyed sharing his wisdom with the ones that wanted to listen. This wasn’t his time and it’s devastating to have him taken this way. The ones who knew my dad, raise an Allagash white (with an orange) for him and roll a fat one. He would want us to remember him and share happiness like he always made sure to spread.

Thank you to the town of Clearwater for all your condolences and prayers."