CAPE CORAL, FL -
The man accused of killing his grandfather and leaving his body in a truck in the turn lane of a Cape Coral road told police he killed the man and then drove the body to the Cape.
The arrest report details the conversation suspect Clinton Drake, 19, of Clewiston, had with police after he was arrested Monday afternoon.
He told officers he got into an argument with 84-year-old John Drake at 5739 West Hwy 27 in Clewiston, according to the arrest report.
Clinton Drake reportedly hit his grandfather with a hammer multiple times, then used a ‘hawk knife' to slit his throat.
Police say they found both items in the truck with blood on them, though they do not know exactly where John Drake was killed.
"That's one of the things we're trying to find out because you have a vehicle and it's a mobile crime scene," said Lieutenant Anthony Sizemore of the Cape Coral Police Department.
The teen covered John Drake's body with a jacket and started driving west.
He allegedly told officers he blew through the SunPass lane on the Midpoint Bridge without paying the toll and then took the exit off Veterans Parkway to turn onto Del Prado.
There, police say Drake told them he spotted a traffic camera and feared he was caught on video, so he got out of the truck and ran, leaving it in the turn lane.
It's not clear why Drake decided to go to Cape Coral.
Police got a 9-1-1 call about a truck stopped in the roadway, with no apparent driver, just after 4 p.m.
Officers arrived and found the elder Drake's body with his head on the passenger's side floorboard, torso across the center console and legs in the back seat.
They found blood spatter inside the truck. John Drake was pronounced dead at the scene.
SUSPICIOUS PERSON As they were investigating the discovery of the body, 9-1-1 calls started coming in about a suspicious man running between houses and swimming in a canal behind St. Andrews Catholic Church of Del Prado.
Police found the man, who they later determined was Clinton Drake, after they heard him banging on a patio on SE 26th Street.
"He kept saying his name was Jesus Christ," said the homeowner who did not want to be identified.
The arrest report says he initially fought officers before they wrestled him to the ground.
Police say as they were talking to witnesses, Drake allegedly blurted out "I killed my grandfather."
Officers read him his Miranda warning and Drake reportedly agreed to talk to them, although he wanted to do it at the police station because he was cold and wet from swimming in the canal.
He was arrested for second degree murder.
Cape Coral police are still investigating the incident, and deputies in Hendry County have reportedly searched Clinton Drake's home in Clewiston.
DENIED BOND
Drake made his first court appearance Tuesday morning. He was strapped in a wheelchair when he appeared in front of the judge via closed circuit television.
He was strapped to the wheelchair because the bailiff said he was being combative.
Drake was denied bond by the judge.
CRIMINAL HISTORY
The teen has been arrested previously for Grand Theft Auto, a case which was not pursued by prosecutors, and a June burglary case.
Drake was allegedly the getaway driver at the Tropical Mobile Home Park on Old US 27 on June 19th.
Deputies allegedly found him sitting in his parent's gray Ford Explorer waiting for Christian Neftali Mejia and Vitalino Velasquez, who were trying to burglarize the shed while wearing bandanas made out of garbage bags.
In that case, he was charged with attempted burglary, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and loitering/prowling.
He was released on bond in September and had his next hearing on that case scheduled for January.
During an emergency hearing Tuesday afternoon, Drake's bond was revoked on the burglary charge.
Pastor John Hicks at the First United Methodist Church says John Drake would have done anything for his family, especially his grandchildren.
"Very easygoing, lovable guy," said Hicks.
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