Bicyclist Beaten To Death With Tire Iron In Clearwater; Arrest Made

CLEARWATER, FL — Clearwater police detectives have arrested a man who admitted to beating a bicyclist to death with a tire iron, according to police.

During a Saturday morning news conference, Clearwater Deputy Chief Michael Walek said Jeffrey Chapman, 49, was found dead by a passerby who called 911 just after 12:30 a.m. Friday, in the 700 block of Mandalay Avenue.

“This case was very heinous and very violent,” he said.

Walek said 26-year-old Jermaine Adrian Bennett of Tampa was taken into custody by Clearwater police and Pasco County sheriff's deputies while he was at work in Wesley Chapel. He's been charged with first-degree murder.

After his arrest, Walek said Bennett admitted to randomly killing Chapman as 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,” Walek said. "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.

While Bennett admitted to hitting Chapman more than 10 times with the tire iron, Walek said detectives believe there was a second person involved in the attack.

He said detectives believe Bennett and an accomplice may have been involved in a similar incident in St. Petersburg that occurred about an hour before Chapman was killed. That victim survived, he said.

He described the other person as a slender-built man who is more than 6 feet tall.

Anyone with information on the identity of the second man can call Clearwater Police at 727-562-4242.