A Florida man whom Polk County deputies described as “violent” and “dangerous,” has been arrested after he allegedly killed another man who was “pleasuring himself” while in a public area.
The incident occurred in the Eloise campground area of Winter Haven. According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Robert Simmons, 42, was in an area last week where transient residents stay and began arguing with a 39-year-old man who Simmons said was masturbating in front of other people.
Judd says Simmons confronted the man and told him to stop the behavior. After multiple altercations, Simmons stabbed the man to death with a knife, Judd said.
On Tuesday, deputies received a call about a murder in the campground. Upon arrival, they discovered the victim’s body in a shallow grave in a thickly wooded area, Fox 13 reported.
A manhunt for the killer was launched on Tuesday and lasted into the next morning. Simmons eventually gave up running and turned himself over to deputies.
Judd said Simmons came out of the woods holding a knife, which he threw on the ground and admitted he used to stab the victim for “pleasuring himself” in public on more than one occasion.
“Robert is violent, and dangers, and he is a bad man,” Sheriff Judd said during a press conference Wednesday. “Well, he’s an arrested man, now.”
Jud added that both men were members of separate area gangs. However, the incidents did not seem to have any relation to those gangs.
The sheriff said during the investigation that several transient residents were displaced from the campground. Deputies provided them with food and assistance as the manhunt went on.
