BELLE GLADE, Fla. — Detectives believe a domestic-related quarrel was the reason a Palm Beach County corrections deputy was gunned down in an ambush attack this week outside of his home in Belle Glade.
The suspect in the shooting, Kevin Benette 32, was arrested Thursday and will face a charge of first-degree murder, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw announced during a Thursday afternoon news conference.
Powell’s best friend says he's relieved a suspect has been caught
Booking documents from the Palm Beach County jail show that Bennette has been charged with first- and second-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and firing a projectile into a dwelling.
The sheriff said Benette is "not a stranger to violence," outlining a past of arrests on charges of battery, aggravated battery, burglary, theft, aggravated domestic stalking, domestic violence by strangulation and false imprisonment.
WATCH BELOW: Suspect arrested after deputy killed this week
Deputy Sheriff Basil Powell was off duty when he was shot while returning to his Belle Glade home Monday night in what the sheriff's office called a targeted attack.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said Thursday that Powell's killing was motivated by a domestic issue involving a woman.
WATCH BELOW: Sheriff Bradshaw announces arrest of suspect in deputy's killing
"The girlfriend of (Powell) is a prior girlfriend of the suspect," Bradshaw said. "I think that he was extremely agitated over that and upset and that's why decided to kill our deputy. ... The motive's not hard to figure out here."
This sheriff's office said earlier this week that Powell's death was not related to his role as a corrections deputy.
Powell was assigned to the West Corrections Center after being hired in October 2021.
Benette is scheduled to make his first appearance before a Palm Beach County judge Friday morning.
WATCH BELOW: Family, friends mourn loss of deputy
"I suspect he will have no bond," Bradshaw said. "We're going to ask for that, for sure."
The sheriff praised detectives for making the arrest.
"They worked around the clock," Bradshaw said. "A lot of them didn't even go to sleep. They got great forensic evidence."
When WPTV's Michael Hoffman broke the news of the arrest to Wessex Altidoor, Powell’s best friend since the first grade and godfather to his children, it came as some much-needed good news after days of questions and wondering who killed his best friend. He told Hoffman that he’s very happy to see the effort that law enforcement put into this investigation and will continue to as it progresses.
Hoffman asked Altidoor if Benette's name and picture were familiar. He said yes, but didn't elaborate further. Hoffman is still working to learn how loved ones may know the suspect.
The sheriff noted that this is the fourth deputy that the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office "family" has lost in less than 90 days after three deputies were killed in November along Southern Boulevard.
Read more of WPTV's coverage below:
Belle Glade
Sheriff says investigators working '24 hours a day' to catch deputy's killer
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Fallen deputy remembered as 'great guy' at candlelight vigil
Belle Glade
'I FEEL IT VERY BAD': Family mourns loss of deputy killed in front of home
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