An altercation between two homeless men turned deadly after the victim and suspect rolled into a canal and continued fighting until one man killed the other.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies were alerted to a body in a canal along the 3100 block of Hammondville Road just after 4 p.m. Monday. According to a witness, Thomas James Dean, 50, and another homeless man, 59, were fighting near the canal bank when the two rolled into the water as they fought. The 59-year-old victim was killed by Dean. After responding to the scene, BSO deputies quickly located Dean at a gas station at 1101 NW 31 Ave. and took him into custody.
Eastbound Hammondville Road was closed to traffic in the area of NW 31 Avenue during rush hour as BSO divers recovered the body and Crime Scene Unit investigators processed the scene.
Dean is being charged with second degree murder and will be booked at the BSO Main Jail in Ft. Lauderdale. The investigation continues while detectives attempt to notify the victim’s next of kin.
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