Arrest Made in Homeless Man's Death

This article has been updated:

A homeless man is now under custody on second-degree murder charges for a man's death near Martin Luther King Jr. Way today.

have arrested Ricky Leer, 48, on those charges for stabbing to death a 53-year-old man after an arguments in the woods near the 3100 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Way near Lockwood Ridge Road early this morning, according to the affidavit.

A witness, who lived with the victim and Leer in the woods, reported the murder at 1:32 a.m. When deputies arrived, the witness led them to the victim's body.

During a search of the area, deputies found Leer, an Indiana native, "drinking rum and learning against a tree" and was taken into custody and brought to the Sheriff's Office to be interviewed.

During the interview, the witness told police that the three were barbecuing steaks Monday night and started to drink rum. The victim and Leer began arguing after the victim accidentally knocked over the grill near the fire, the witness told deputies.

The argument continued to where the witness saw Leer assault the victim, knocking him on the ground, grabbing a "machete-like knife" and "began to chop" at the victim's head, according to the affidavit.

The victim has been identified but detectives are still attempting to notify next of kin so his name is not yet being released, the Sheriff's Office said.