Tarpon Springs Murder Suspect Caught in Clearwater

TARPON SPRINGS, FL — The 39-year-old man wanted in connection with a fatal Saturday morning shooting outside the Sunbay Motel in Tarpon Springs is in police custody.

According to Tarpon Springs Police, Fredrick Bentley was spotted in Clearwater walking across the 1000 block of Magnolia Drive late Saturday night. Tarpon Springs police were assisted by Clearwater officers and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in finding Bentley after the shooting death of Tarenzo Ladarius Smith, 27, at the 57 W. Tarpon Ave.

Tarpon Springs Police say they received a call about shots fired at the motel around 4:30 a.m. Saturday. When they arrived, they found Smith suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say Bentley and Smith, who both lived at the hotel, had gotten into an argument that turned deadly. After the shooting, Bentley fled the area, police wrote in an email to media.

After Bentley was identified as the suspect in the shooting, police obtained a search warrant for his hotel room. Inside, they say they found and seized a firearm, the email said.

Bentley was released from state custody in 2003 after being convicted on resisting arrest with violence and armed robbery charges. Bentley now faces a first-degree murder charge. He was being held in the Pinellas County Jail Sunday without bond.

Booking photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office