Document text
Eagle Point man arrested at Fla. airport for murder TAMPA, Fla. � An Eagle Point man�s Jamaican adventure ended with an arrest Friday for allegedly murdering his neighbor, according to Jackson County sheriff�s deputies. Robert Steven Turner, 49, was taken into custody by the Tampa Airport Police Department at 5 p.m. as he arrived in the United States on a flight from Jamaica, deputies said. The victim, Michael James Smith, was found dead in an irrigation ditch two miles from his home outside of Eagle Point on June 29. Autopsy reports revealed he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. A warrant charging Turner with murder was issued the day after Smith�s body was found. Turner left Eagle Point around June 25 and was last seen by family in the Los Angeles area, said deputies. He went to Jamaica shortly afterwards, they said. The process to extradite Turner from Florida will begin now, said deputies. Smith was last seen June 20 by a friend who dropped him off at his home on Derby Road. Sgt. Rich Fogarty told the Mail Tribune earlier this month that investigators learned Turner and Smith, who lived across from each other, had an ongoing dispute. According to Fogarty the dispute went so far that Turner talked with a deputy over the phone about Smith June 13. Turner said Smith and some of his friends were harassing him June 12 and wanted advice, Fogarty said. Turner has a history of mental illness and abusiveness, according to Jackson County court records. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA