JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Jacksonville Beach police have arrested a 60-year-old man who has been charged with first-degree premeditated murder following a fatal stabbing near the Jacksonville Beach Pier.
Dennis Perry was taken into custody around 4 a.m. by the Jacksonville Beach Police Department.
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The victim has been identified as Stephen James Beegle, 38.
“There is no ongoing threat to the public related to this incident,” Jacksonville Beach police said in a statement Thursday.
Victim found with multiple stab wounds
Officers responded to the area beneath the Jacksonville Beach Pier around 10 p.m. Wednesday night following a call about a stabbing.
A witness called police after seeing a fight between two men in the area and later returning to find a man had been stabbed. Officers arrived to find the body of a man beneath the pier with multiple stab wounds and cuts across his body.
Beegle, a Georgia resident, was identified through his Georgia driver’s license.
Surveillance video links suspect to stabbing
Detectives recovered surveillance footage from city cameras and the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier Overview Live Cam on YouTube, which they say captured Perry’s movements in the minutes surrounding the stabbing.
According to the arrest report, at 9:23 p.m., Perry was seen on video leaving the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue N and entering the dunes, where a backpack was later found. At 9:26 p.m., Perry was seen going under the pier with what officers described as a pronounced gait. As he approached the edge of the pier, he reached into his shorts and appeared to pull out a knife, according to his arrest report.
At 9:27 p.m., Perry was seen exiting from under the pier and heading back up the dunes toward the boardwalk. Minutes later, at 9:31 p.m., he was observed walking south on the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue N toward the bathrooms, where he was seen reaching into his waistband — the same area from which he had retrieved the knife on the beach. He briefly went off camera, then at 9:32 p.m. was seen going behind trash cans and into the dunes where the knife was later recovered.
Knife, backpack recovered from dunes
Detectives searched the dune area behind the trash cans on the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue N. There, they located a black backpack in the sand near several small palm trees.
The backpack contained pill bottles bearing the name Dennis Perry, clothing, toiletry items, glasses and a large black knife sheath. A large knife was found approximately 2 feet away, lying in the sand beneath shrubbery.
Officers also observed blood on Perry’s hands and shoes at the time he was detained.
Perry was detained near the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue N. Officers identified a witness to the incident at the scene.
Investigation ongoing
Jacksonville Beach police say the investigation remains active and ongoing, even with an arrest made.
“We understand the community’s desire for information; however, investigations of this serious nature take time,” police said. “Our goal is to conduct a thorough investigation while providing information to the public that will not compromise the integrity of the case.”
Detectives and investigators continue to conduct additional investigative work. Police say no further information is available for release at this time, and additional information will be released when it can be provided without compromising the investigation.