Suspect in Melbourne homicide faces judge in first hearing at Brevard jail
A 27-year-old man who Melbourne police say killed a man and then stole a car was slated to go before a judge Friday for a hearing at the county jail.
Chase Michael Wilson Smith was charged with first-degree premeditated murder and grand theft of a motor vehicle following an ongoing investigation into the death of Kenneth Johnson, a 32-year-old Melbourne resident found dead in a Melbourne home.
Smith was arrested early Thursday, taken to the Brevard County Jail Complex and ordered held without bond.
Johnson’s body was found Feb. 24 in a home located in the 700 block of McDermott Avenue.
Officers were called to the site about 2:05 p.m. to investigate reports of a death and found Johnson's body during a search of the home. Detectives focused on Smith — described by police as homeless — early on in the investigation.
Detectives did not immediately release information about Smith’s connection to Johnson or how exactly Johnson was killed.
More: Police suspect homicide in case of 32-year-old man found dead over weekend in Melbourne
Court records show Smith was previously charged with assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in front of the couple’s two children during a car ride in February 2020. The state attorney’s office later dropped those charges. A charge involving Smith pointing a weapon at another motorist in Melbourne in 2018 was later filed. Smith was later released with time served.
A motive in the case involving Johnson was not released. Johnson’s death was the 11th reported homicide in Brevard County this year.
An investigation is ongoing.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Melbourne man suspected in homicide arrested; held without bond
