MELBOURNE, Fla. – A transient 26-year-old arrested in the killing of a man found dead last month in a Melbourne home is accused of using a hammer in the fatal attack, according to an affidavit released Friday.
ChaseMichael Willson Smith was arrested on Thursday to face charges of first-degree murder and grand theft in the death of Kenneth Johnson, 32, whose body was located Feb. 24 in his home on McDermott Avenue, Melbourne police said.
The affidavit describes run-ins that Smith had with law enforcement between his latest arrest and Feb. 21, when the Melbourne Police Department believes Johnson was killed.
According to investigators, Smith said he and Johnson were friends who met “right out of high school” and would sometimes go fishing in Sebastian, adding that he was presently homeless. The timeline given by police places Smith at the victim’s home for several days leading up to Feb. 21 before he was contacted by Indian River County deputies on Feb. 22 while walking in a roadway in Sebastian, then trespassed there on Feb. 23 after a reported shoplifting. In both cases, deputies gave Smith a courtesy ride, the latter taking him to a Winn-Dixie in Micco.
Elsewhere Feb. 23 in Indian River County, the Fellsmere Police Department placed a 48-hour sticker on an unoccupied and unlocked vehicle that had been left near the intersection of North Willow Street and New York Avenue. This was Johnson’s vehicle, which Smith is accused of driving away after the killing yet was not reported missing and/or stolen until the 32-year-old’s body was found the next day, police said.
At the home, investigators said Johnson was lying on the floor in the living room surrounded by a large pool of blood emanating from his upper body and head area, noting significant trauma to the victim’s head and a large amount of castoff blood on walls and the ceiling. As a search warrant was executed that evening, a hammer was found with apparent blood on it, as well as multiple bloody shoe impressions, according to the affidavit.
Witness statements and surveillance footage indicated Smith was at the residence Feb. 20 and 21, seen on the latter day wearing a green hooded sweatshirt, denim jeans and white sneakers. Police referenced their response to the residence Feb. 20 as Johnson reported someone had broken in and stolen items; Smith was noted as the only other person in the residence with the victim at the time, telling police he had been there for five days and otherwise being seen on body-worn camera video wearing those same white sneakers, according to the affidavit.
Come Feb. 25, law enforcement returned to the abandoned vehicle in Indian River County. A search of the vehicle revealed red stains on the exterior driver’s door handle and in many locations inside, such as the driver’s armrest, center console and steering wheel. Additionally, a draw-string bag with “Smith” written on it was located in the vehicle, also stained red, containing a casino card issued to “Chase M. Smith,” a Club Royal card for a “ChaseMichael Smith” and a debit card displaying the name “Chase Smith.”
Early Feb. 25, Melbourne police responded to a call for service along Ebony Street where Smith had reportedly been pounding on residents’ doors. Later that day, Smith was issued a traffic citation for an alleged pedestrian violation in the 2000 block of Sarno Road, the affidavit states.
An autopsy of Johnson’s body was completed Feb. 26, with the medical examiner determining his cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries consistent with one instrument, according to the affidavit. That afternoon, a canvass of the area where the vehicle was found turned up a pair of white sneakers bearing many red stains, as well as several other articles of clothing with red stains. The soles of the sneakers were later found to be apparently consistent with the bloody shoe impressions in the victim’s home, police said.
Investigators also made contact this day with who they said was the last person other than Smith to have seen Johnson alive. This individual said he had visited Johnson’s residence Feb. 21, where he stayed for about an hour before leaving around 10 p.m., later placing a FaceTime call to Johnson around 11:30 p.m. that went unanswered. After it was verified that the shoes this individual wore on Feb. 21 could not have left the bloody impressions found at the scene, he positively identified Smith from a picture, police said.
Ramon Diaz told News 6 reporter James Sparvero he didn’t know Smith.
“He’s real quiet, silent, in the back,” he described seeing Smith that night at Johnson’s house.
Diaz said he was sad to hear of the allegations.
“It’s a tragedy that something like that happened to a close friend of mine,” he said.
Constant visual observation of Smith was conducted throughout Feb. 26, police said. He was approached by investigators and reportedly agreed to speak with them, claiming the last time he was in Johnson’s vehicle was the week before and that he did not drive. Smith went on to say he had no issues or problems with Johnson and had left the residence on foot Feb. 22 to walk to Pompano Beach, the affidavit states. Police doubted this account, citing an estimated two-day, 12-hour walking time between Pompano Beach and Melbourne, as well as how Indian River County deputies had interacted with Smith on Feb. 22.
Smith continued talking to police, telling them he last spoke with Johnson on Feb. 23, adamant he had also seen him in person that day, according to the affidavit. The 26-year-old further contradicted his own claim that he did not drive by telling investigators he had driven Johnson’s vehicle a couple weeks prior, police said. A DNA search warrant was then executed, collecting hair from Smith’s head and beard, as well as a buccal swab, the affidavit states.
Among further investigate measures taken was the review Feb. 29 of a tracking device attached to Johnson’s keys, what police said shows the keys remained at the residence until 11:33 p.m. Feb. 21. Smith had told police that the vehicle was still at the residence when he claimed to have left Feb. 22, according to the affidavit. The tracker pinged multiple locations in Melbourne and Fellsmere on Feb. 21 and 22, police said.
Probable cause was found to believe Smith had committed first-degree murder and grand theft of a motor vehicle in Johnson’s death and the misplacement of his vehicle, prompting the 26-year-old’s arrest, police said.
Smith’s first appearance in Brevard County court was scheduled for Friday, where a judge granted him no bond.
“Your bond has already been set at no bond, and given the charges, you’re not entitled to bond,” Judge David Koenig said.
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