A Broward man is facing second-degree murder charges after deputies say he shot and killed his roommate in Pompano Beach on Wednesday morning.
The arrest comes two weeks after a separate case in Broward in which police say violence erupted between roommates.
Jeramie James Smith, 34, was arrested at the scene of the crime, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said Friday in a news release. He now faces one count of second-degree murder with a firearm.
About 8 a.m., sheriff’s deputies and Pompano Beach Fire Rescue responded to a call about a shooting near the 1300 block of Northeast Fourth Street. When they arrived, they “made contact” with Smith and the victim, 46-year-old Paul Rivera.
The “preliminary investigation” revealed that Smith had shot Rivera, according to the release. Paramedics pronounced Rivera dead on scene due to his gunshot wound.
BSO Crime Scene and Homicide Unit detectives responded, as well as the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office. Deputies immediately detained Smith at the scene during the investigation, before taking him to the Broward County Main Jail, where he remains.
Smith pleaded no contest to charges including possessing a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of cannabis 1,000 feet from a school or church, and possession of cannabis with intent to sell back in 2011, court records show.
The release did not say what led to the shooting, and the investigation remains active.
Wednesday’s shooting is the second case of violence between roommates in the county in two weeks. On Dec. 28, Sunrise Police arrested a man they say stabbed his roommate four times with a kitchen knife during an argument over rent, cutting his artery, according to a probable cause affidavit.
His roommate survived after emergency surgery on his forearm.
The suspect, Thomas Anthony Jones, was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. He told detectives that his roommate was his friend of 20 years, and that he had allowed him to stay on his couch for $250 a week, according to the affidavit. But his roommate, who was not identified, had recently stopped paying rent and Jones had become increasingly frustrated.
He told police that the two had gotten into a physical fight that “got out of hand,” but said that his roommate had stabbed himself. Jones then left the scene with his girlfriend, according to the affidavit, calling his mother and telling her he needed to “get out of town.”
Jones was released on bond Tuesday.