Authorities arrested a “homeless drifter” accused of killing a 14-year-old Florida boy last month in a “completely random act,” police said Thursday.
Semmie Lee Williams Jr., 39, was booked on suspicion of first-degree murder in connection with the slaying of Ryan Rogers, whose body was found Nov. 16 near the Central Boulevard sidewalk at the Interstate 95 overpass in Palm Beach Gardens.
Williams was taken into custody Wednesday night in Miami, Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Clint Shannon said.
“He appears to be a homeless drifter spending most of his time in the streets of Miami,” Shannon told reporters on Thursday.
Officials don’t know what might have led to the killing.
“The incident itself appears to be a completely random act,” Shannon said. “We do not have a motive in this case and I would best describe it as an innocent child victim having a chance encounter with a very violent criminal.”
Shannon added: “It appears to be an absolute chance encounter between a child on a bicycle and an animal that should probably not be out on our streets.”
The police chief thanked his detectives and investigators from neighboring agencies.
“Our investigators have received and followed up on numerous phone calls and other tips. Through their diligent work (and) our community support, we were able to discover key pieces of evidence to develop probable cause for the arrest of Semmie Lee Williams,” Shannon said. “They removed a very dangerous monster from our streets.”
The suspect has no known ties to Palm Beach Gardens.
“It’s a mystery to us why this man was in our community,” Shannon said. “We have evidence that places him on the scene and makes him responsible for the murder of this child.”
It wasn’t immediately clear late Thursday morning if Williams had hired or been assigned a lawyer.
Williams has a long arrest record, police said, with alleged offenses in Florida, Georgia and California.
The arrests include aggravated assault with strangulation, battery on a person 65 or older and domestic assault, police said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
