A Florida man has been arrested for the ambush murder of an 0ff-duty corrections deputy earlier this week.
Investigators said that Kevin Bennette, 32, “targeted and ambushed” Basil Powell, 39, as he returned home Monday evening, WTVJ reported. Powell’s 5-year-old daughter was waiting in his car while her father was shot to death.
Police said Powell was dating Bennette’s ex-girlfriend.
“I think that he was extremely agitated over that and upset and that’s why he decided to kill our deputy,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said. “Sometimes we make bad choices in our life but that doesn’t excuse the fact that he doesn’t have the right to kill anybody over a bad relationship.”
Bradshaw said that Bennette, who has a violent criminal history that includes domestic violence, will be charged with first degree murder.
Powell had been with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office for three years, the department said.
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[Featured image: Kevin Bennette/Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and Basil Powell/Facebook]
