POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A Winter Haven man is facing charges in an attack that left a 38-year-old man dead Saturday, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies said they arrested Calvin Ross, 27, after they found Johnathon Miller unconscious in a patch of grass outside a home on Manseau Drive Saturday just before 6:40 p.m.
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Witnesses at the scene told investigators that the two were talking to each other outside when an argument broke out, deputies said. The witnesses said they heard noises that sounded like "thuds" before Ross walked back inside and went to his room, according to the Sheriff's Office.
After Ross went back inside, he told one of his roommates that "Miller is on the ground and needs to be checked on," witnesses told authorities.
Detectives found Miller lying in the grass suffering from facial damage and head trauma, deputies said. Investigators said they also found a bloody pick hammer near where Miller was found and blood on his clothes and shoes.
Deputies said Miller was taken to Winter Haven Hospital before being transported to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, where he later died.
Ross, who was out of jail on bond after he was accused of hitting someone in the head with a brick during an aggravated battery last April, was charged with second-degree murder with a weapon and violation of pretrial conditions, deputies said.
"This was a senseless and violent homicide. The suspect was out on bond for hitting another man in the head with a brick-a violent aggravated battery," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement."This time his victim didn't survive. With his violent history, we are going to make sure he stays in jail until he gets sent to prison for a long, long time."
Ross' criminal history includes charges of aggravated battery, domestic violence, assault, petit theft, violation of probation, possession of marijuana and carrying a concealed weapon, deputies said.
The Sheriff's Office said it is conducting a death investigation.