PALM HARBOR, Fla. — Pinellas County deputies arrested a man who they say beat another man to death when he didn't get his car back on time.
Matthew Weldon, 37, faces a charge of second-degree murder and is booked in the Pinellas County Jail, according to a sheriff's office news release.
The agency first said Tuesday afternoon that it was investigating a "disturbance" at a home in the Ozona community near Palm Harbor and did not provide additional details. Law enforcement was called just after 3:30 p.m. on May 21 to the house on Shore Drive after a man called 911 to report his neighbor told him that he had killed someone, the sheriff's office said in an update.
When deputies arrived, they said they found Weldon in front of the home. He was covered in blood.
"He is dead," was all Weldon told deputies as he pointed toward the crime scene.
Deputies soon found 49-year-old Carroll Bryan lying on the back patio. He'd been hit multiple times on his head, neck and arm with a blunt object. He died at the scene, the sheriff's office said.
According to deputies, Weldon and Bryan met about two weeks ago at a local Clearwater bar. Weldon reportedly offered to help Bryan and loaned him his car. Around a week later, Bryan didn't return the car when he agreed to, upsetting Weldon, deputies said.
On Tuesday, Bryan reportedly arrived at Weldon's home with his car. They argued, escalating to the point where Bryan was hit in the back of the head, deputies said. Once he was on the ground, he was hit "repeatedly," causing further injuries and eventually his death.
Weldon only had minor injuries. He has been charged with second-degree murder and was taken to the Pinellas County Jail.
The large law enforcement presence in the Ozona community drew attention from neighbors, who told 10 Tampa Bay the community is often quiet. Some who have lived here for decades said they've never seen crime scene tape in the neighborhood.
"Nobody even knows about Ozona. A lot of people don't, but it is a wonderful community, but this is unusual," said Peg Mahara, a resident of 45 years in the community.
Several other neighbors, including Jana Joyner, who lives across the road from where deputies are responding to, said at least one man lives at the home being investigated.
"This is a very quiet neighborhood. Very quiet, so [it's] very strange," Joyner said.