Clearwater police have arrested a man accused of fatally shooting his neighbor early Saturday after the pair had an argument at a Tarpon Springs motel.
Police said Fredrick Bentley, 39, ran off after shooting 27-year-old Tarenzo Ladarius Smith at Sunbay Motel, 57 West Tarpon Ave., where both men were living.
Soon after, Tarpon Springs police launched a manhunt, and with the assistance of the Clearwater police and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, tracked Bentley to the 1000 block of Magnolia Drive in Clearwater, where he was arrested just before 11 p.m. Saturday.
The shooting happened early Saturday morning, and Tarpon Springs officers arrived about 4:30 a.m. to find Smith's body on the south side of the motel parking lot. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police described the two men as acquaintances whose conversation turned into an argument. That's when Bentley went to get a gun and shot Smith before running away, police say.
Bentley was previously convicted for resisting arrest with violence and armed robbery in 2001, according to records. He was released from prison in 2003. He is being held without bond at Pinellas County Jail on charges of first degree murder.