A person of interest in thegruesome death of four friends from Oklahomawas arrested for allegedly stealing a car on Tuesday.
Joe Kennedy, 67, was detained in Daytona Beach Shores, Floridaafter allegedly being found in a vehicle that was reported stolento the authorities on Monday, the Okmulgee Police Department (OPD) announced Tuesday.
A warrant has also been issued for his arrest in Okmulgee County District Court for a violation of his probation relating to a shooting in 2012, OPD said.
A Daytona Beach Shores Department of Public Safety officer made the arrest after her license plate readeralerted her that a pickup— a Toyota Tundra — was stolen after it drove past her, the department said in a press release.
Kennedy was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle and booked into Volusia County jail in Florida. He is currently held without bond, according to the release. It is not clear if he has engaged legal representation to speak on his behalf.
Okmulgee Police Department (4)
The officials from OPD said the District Attorney and the Sheriff will begin the process of transferring Kennedy back to Okmulgee County to carry out further investigation into Kennedy’s alleged involvement in the deaths of four friends.
Their official cause of death has not been confirmed but they were shot, Prentice said at the time, adding that the missing people investigation is now considered a murder investigation.
He added at the time that investigators have not found the men’s bicycles.
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“I’ve worked over 80 murders in my career. I have worked murders involving multiple victims. I have worked dismemberings. But this case involves the highest number of victims and it’s a very violent event. I can’t say that I’ve never worked anything like it but it’s right up there,” Prentice said of the case.
He later said that Kennedy had been cooperating with police before he went missing, and said he did not know the victims.
Their families were “distraught” and “shocked” when told of the developments in the investigation.
source: people.com
