FORT PIERCE – Police on Monday brought some focus to weekend events that left three dead − one of whom died after a gunfire exchange with police. Investigators said they are “trying to make sense of it.”
Dead after the Saturday gunfire exchange with Fort Pierce police was Bernard Smith, 28.
Police identified two others who died after sustaining gunshot wounds as Devin Bradley, 24 and Roosevelt Benjamin, 59, in a case that began shortly after 11 a.m. It was not clear whether Smith played a role in their deaths.
“We're exploring every single avenue in order to identify what actually transpired,” police Maj. Michael Santiago said Monday. “It was dynamic. It was fast moving, and it was complex. We have no motive behind the case.”
Santiago said police got two calls for service at almost the same time, one involving a man with a gunshot wound in the 1400 block of North 23rd Street, the other an auto theft in the 2100 block of Avenue N. Officers went to both.
“They hear gunshots relatively close, just west of them. They go and advance towards those gunshots to try to determine what's going on,” Santiago said. “They don't see anybody at that time. They hear another volley of gunshots. They advance again, they … encounter an armed subject at the 1600 block of 25th Street, where there was an exchange of gunfire that resulted in the death of the armed subject (Smith).”
The two additional gunshot wound victims were found in homes in the 1600 block of Northwest 24th Street and in the 2400 block of Avenue P.
“What we're looking at right now is trying to determine if all these incidents are connected,” Santiago said. “Right now what we can definitively say is that the car theft was connected to the officer-involved shooting. We know that was the same subject of the car theft.”
The gunshot victim from the 1400 block of North 23rd Street, Craig Robinson, 50, remains hospitalized in HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, police said.
‘Wouldn’t hurt a flea’
Family members spoke fondly of Roosevelt “Kent” Benjamin.
One of his siblings is Kim Benjamin, 54, of Georgia. She said her brother was an “excellent guy,” who worked to take care of his family.
Roosevelt Benjamin, who was hearing impaired, was a longtime postal worker. He had four daughters “and his family was his entire life,” she said.
“He wouldn't hurt a flea,” Kim Benjamin said. “For someone to come in here and take my brother, he was an idiot.”
Kim Benjamin said her brother did not know Smith.
Family members said Roosevelt Benjamin’s wife of more than 30 years is Jeanette.
Linda Benjamin Brown, 64, a sister of Roosevelt Benjamin, said her brother was discovered by a family member in his house after the family member went through crime scene tape. She said Roosevelt Benjamin was seen via cameras in the home.
Thelma Brown, 73, of Clewiston, is Roosevelt Benjamin’s mother-in-law. She said he was a kind person.
“He loved his family, loved his wife, his kids, his grandkids,” Brown said. “The whole time he'd been married to my daughter, never had an argument.”
She said her daughter, who is hearing impaired, and Roosevelt Benjamin met in middle school in St. Augustine at the Florida School for the Deaf & the Blind.
Devin Bradley was an employee of the Fort Pierce Police Department, in the agency's information technology department.
"This tragedy hits close to home," according to a news release from police. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families, loved ones and friends."
A family member o Bradley's did not wish to speak Tuesday, and attempts to reach work colleagues at the Police Department were unsuccessful.
Prior history
Smith appears to have a criminal history dating to as early as 2012, records show.
He was released from state prison on March 5, according to the Florida Department of Corrections.
Smith’s local criminal history began when he was of high school age, according to St. Lucie County Clerk of Court records. He was charged in 2012 — when he was 16 — with sale or delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine. He pleaded no contest to the charges in February 2013.
In June 2013, when Smith was 17, he was arrested on charges including kidnapping, robbery with a weapon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and grand theft. He pleaded guilty in August 2014 to a robbery charge and other charges were dropped, records show. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison with credit for 420 days time served before sentencing.
In February 2020, he was arrested after Fort Pierce Police reported he had a stolen .40-caliber handgun in his pants. He was a passenger in a Kia pulled over on a traffic stop in the area of North 18th Street and Avenue G. He pleaded no contest in the case in July 2022 and was sentenced to 36 months in prison with credit for 536 days time served.
In June 2022, Smith was arrested on a charge of felony battery by a person detained in prison or jail following an incident while he was incarcerated at the St. Lucie County jail. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to two years in prison.
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Will Greenleeis a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X@OffTheBeatTweetor reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him atwill.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
