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Background: Kevin Bennette is escorted by Palm Beach County Police officers after being arrested (WPBF). Inset: Basil Powell (provided to media by family).
A Florida man charged with murdering a deputy corrections officer was taken into custody with the handcuffs that belonged to his alleged victim.
Kevin Bennette, 32, was arrested on Feb. 13 after an investigation into the fatal shooting of Basil Powell, 39, a deputy corrections officer with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. Police said that Bennette allegedly “targeted and ambushed” Powell as he returned to his home on Feb. 10 and allegedly shot him while his 5-year-old daughter waited in the car. Powell was reportedly dating Bennette’s ex-girlfriend.
Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw spoke to the press after Bennette was seen being transported to the Palm Beach County Jail. Bradshaw said that Bennette had “a violent past,” including domestic violence offenses. Bradshaw stated that a possible motive was related to Powell’s relationship with Bennette’s ex-girlfriend, saying, “I think that he was extremely agitated over that and upset.”
Bradshaw added, “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 with a lady.”
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Among other details that Bradshaw provided was the fact that Bennette was arrested with handcuffs that had belonged to Powell. He also noted the “great forensic evidence” found during the investigation, which took place “around the clock.” The alleged murder weapon has not been recovered, but Bradshaw said they were still executing search warrants.
Powell’s daughter, who was in the car at the time her father was shot, was unharmed. Local ABC affiliate WPBF reported that Powell had picked her up from her day care center just hours before tragedy struck. One of her teachers told the outlet, “He had just left here, and it’s like every time he comes in, he greets us. He asks us how her day has been. He just wanted to know what’s going on with his little girl every single day.”
