Man charged with pushing victim to death in Ruskin

Paul Guzzo, Tampa Bay Times
Updated ·2 min read

RUSKIN — A man has been arrested and charged with murder in the second degree following an altercation near the 500 block of Bahia Beach Boulevard on Saturday night.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the fight between Kamal Padlowski, 50, and another adult male began on a boat. When the man left the boat, Padlowski followed the victim onto the dock and pushed him, deputies said. The victim fell and hit his head. Padlowski then pushed him again, according to the agency, into the water.

Deputies responded to the scene about 6:30 after a report of a possible shooting. But when they arrived, they found no sign of a shooting. After a witness statement, the agency called in its dive team, who recovered a body in the water.

Padlowski was booked into county jail early Sunday morning, held without bond. According to jail records, he lives in Lake Magdalene and works as senior cloud architect for Microsoft.

He faces one charge of felony second-degree murder, court records show, which can be punished by up to life in prison.

The Sheriff’s Office declined to release any further information about the victim before they can notify his next of kin.

“This tragic incident highlights the severe consequences that can arise from acts of violence, and our thoughts are with the victim’s family during this incredibly difficult time,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement. “The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is dedicated to ensuring justice is served, and we will continue to investigate this case thoroughly.”

In October 1998, the Greenville News reported that Padlowski, then 24 years old, was arrested in Pickens County, South Carolina for issuing a fraudulent check and assaulting a police officer while resisting arrest. Pickens County court records say he pleaded guilty to resisting arrest.

Then in 2009, the Montclair Times reported that West Orange, New Jersey police officers arrested Padlowski and charged him with resisting arrest, aggravated assault on an officer, making terroristic threats and assaulting two women. He was charged with spitting on the women at the bar and then spitting, kicking at and shoving an officer at the police station. It’s unclear what came of those charges.