A 30-year-old man has been charged in the homicide of the person found dead inside a tent encampment on May 25, according to St. Lucie County sheriff’s officials.
Zachary Ryan Edwards, 30, a homeless resident of Fort Pierce, was arrested May 29 and charged with first-degree murder and fraudulent use of an EBT card, according to sheriff’s officials.
The person found dead inside the tent encampment was identified on May 30 as Carl Leonard Smith, 63, of Fort Pierce, according to officials.
The investigation began after sheriff’s deputies went about 10:20 a.m. May 25 to the 2600 block of Rolyat Street, located between the Starbucks and 7 Brew Coffee locations on Okeechobee Road, in reference to the person found at the tent encampment.
The death was ruled a homicide by the Medical Examiner’s Office after a May 26 autopsy, according to officials. Detectives began to work to identify and locate Edwards, the person believed to be responsible.
They interviewed witnesses, reviewed surveillance footage and developed probable cause to arrest Edwards on a charge of fraudulent misuse of an EBT card, according to officials. They searched for Edwards and found him about 10:15 p.m. May 29 in the 400 block of Brown Court, where he was taken into custody without any issues.
Detectives continued their investigation and had enough evidence to show Edwards was responsible for the homicide, according to officials. Edwards was taken to the St. Lucie County Jail, where he remained May 30 without bail.
Anyone with information about the ongoing investigation should contact the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 772-462-3230 or crimeinfo@stluciesheriff.gov.
Laurie K. Blandford is a breaking news reporter with TCPalm. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Arrest made in homicide of person found dead inside tent encampment
Reporting by Laurie K. Blandford, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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