Jacksonville Beach police said both the victim and the accused man were homeless, and a witness reported seeing two men fighting before the fatal stabbing.
JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A man was killed Wednesday night in a stabbing beneath the Jacksonville Beach Fishing Pier, police said, and a suspect was taken into custody shortly afterward on a first-degree murder charge.
Officers were called to the pier shortly before 10 p.m. after a 911 report of a stabbing, according to the Jacksonville Beach Police Department. A witness told police he had seen two men fighting under the pier earlier that night, then returned and found the victim, identified as 38-year-old Stephen Beegle.
Police said Beegle was already dead when officers arrived. He had suffered multiple stab wounds and cuts.
Nearby on the boardwalk at 2nd Avenue North, officers found the suspect, 60-year-old Dennis Perry, with blood visible on his hands and shoes, according to police. He was detained at the scene.
As the investigation unfolded, officers reviewed nearby surveillance footage as well as a live YouTube camera to piece together Perry’s movements around the time of the stabbing.
The arrest report says Perry was seen pulling what appeared to be a knife from his shorts before heading under the pier at 9:26 p.m. About a minute later, he came back out and was later observed walking into the dunes.
Officers said they later found Perry’s backpack in the dunes with a large knife sheath inside. The backpack was located just feet from the knife believed to have been used to kill Beegle.
According to the report, both men were homeless.
We spoke with a witness who said he and others under the pier tried to break up the fight between the two.
“I mean, totally blew me away,” a man who did not want to be identified said. “It really did. I mean, cause that’s my friends and I just can’t believe that they would go to that extent.”
He says he was shocked to learn Perry is now in jail.
“Unfortunately, Perry, he should have never bought the knife,” he added. “It’s like a stupid thing that you just did in your life. Now, you’re gonna go to prison for life.”
Business owners are also reacting. For Fernando Meza, owner of the Wreck Tiki Lounge, he says he doesn’t want people to avoid the beach because of this incident.
“I always try to tell people the beach is still safe,” Meza said. “I mean, if you walk around the boardwalk right now nobody’s messing with you. There’s nobody pulling out guns, there’s nobody pulling out knives. It was just a random thing that happened.”
“It’s heartbreaking any time that life is taken,” he added. “No matter what, it’s heartbreaking. So, I hope they get justice, and I know Jacksonville Beach PD will do their job.”
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information that could be helpful as the investigation continues is asked to contact Detective L. Lyon at 904-639-6288.
