Deadly Polk County road rage shooting suspect arrested: Sheriff
DAVENPORT, Fla. - Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is begging people not to engage in road rage after one trucker ended up dead and another one is in jail for second-degree murder following a deadly conflict on an Interstate 4 off-ramp in Davenport.
According to Sheriff Judd, someone called 911 at 2:16 a.m. on Sunday and said a 2017 white Dodge Ram was in the turning lane from the off-ramp of I-4 to U.S. and there is a guy laying beside it with a hole in his head.
Deputies arriving at the scene found 58-year-old Kevin Berry in grave condition, but not deceased.
Investigators say Berry, who lived in Altamonte Springs was on I-4 and took the off-ramp at U.S. 27 in order to go to work at the trucking firm he worked for, which is located near the intersection.
Pictured: Kevin Berry. Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office.
"We talked to friends and family who said, ‘Hey, he doesn’t back down from an event, so if you get up in his face, he will push back.’ What we also learned from a witness was there was a road rage with this car and the preliminary information we got was it was a dark-colored, small, compact, two-door vehicle with a luggage rack, kind of an older model," Sheriff Judd explained.
"He helped all his family and friends and neighbors. He was a very giving person," said Dan Crawford, Berry's long-time friend. "It helped my heart so much they caught this person, and they didn't get away with it."
Detectives immediately started looking at cameras in stores on Highway 27.
"One of the cameras at that intersection showed a conflict and it also recorded sound. We could hear two gunshots and we could hear people screaming at each other," Sheriff Judd stated.
Contrary to witness information, the sheriff said the suspect’s vehicle turned out to be a four-door silver car without a luggage rack.
Sheriff Judd said investigators went to work searching for that vehicle and three others that were in the area at the time of the shooting, likely witnessed the event and drove around it.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, investigators tracked the suspect’s vehicle to 58-year-old Daniele Hamilton’s Davenport house. Hamilton, like Berry was a truck driver.
Sheriff Judd said Hamilton, like Berry, was a truck driver. The sheriff added that Hamilton also had a criminal record.
Daniele Hamilton mugshot courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
According to the sheriff, he’s had three felony arrests and three misdemeanor arrests, drug trafficking charges, fighting charges, robbery charges, disorderly charges, battery charges, contempt, and forgery.
Detectives who went to Hamilton’s house say he told them that he had been at home the entire time and his car had been at the house. That’s when the lead detective shows Hamilton his vehicle at the intersection at the exact time Berry is shot.
Deputies got a search warrant for Hamilton’s house and found a gun under his pillow that was missing three casings. Sheriff Judd says there were two live rounds in the firearm. He added that three empty casings were found in Hamilton’s garbage can.
"We absolutely anticipate that this gun is going to match the ballistics on the bullet once we are able to retrieve it from the victim’s head. The bullet is still in his brain at this time. It’s a horrible event," Sheriff Judd said.
Mugshot of Daniel Hamilton and the gun found under his pillow.
According to Judd, Berry is legally deceased. He is being kept alive on life-support so his family can donate his organs.
"This is the ugly end to road rage," Sheriff Judd shared. "This man is dead. This man is locked up in jail for second-degree murder at this time because of road rage, because they had some conflict on Interstate 4 at 2 o’clock in the morning."
Sheriff Judd added that deputies don’t know who started the road rage incident.
"What we do know is that when Daniel shot and killed Kevin, he ended the road rage and that’s called murder," Sheriff Judd stated.
Sheriff Judd stated that Hamilton made admissions to deputies, but eventually stopped talking.
"He even said, ‘You got what you need, I’m ready to go to jail,’" Sheriff Judd said of Hamilton.
The sheriff added that this would not likely be a ‘Stand Your Ground’ case because Berry was found unarmed beside his vehicle.
Sheriff Judd said deputies are still looking for the witnesses in the other cars and he is hoping they come forward.