Florida man arrested in deadly shooting of friend over pool pump dispute, sheriff says
ORLANDO, Fla. - An Osceola County man has been arrested and charged with murder following the deadly shooting of a friend during a fight over a pool pump, according to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office.
Joshua Miller, 29, is in custody after an hours-long manhunt. Sheriff Lopez said Miller is accused of shooting and killing Joseph Beck, 29, on June 8, outside a home on Bronco Drive in St. Cloud.
Lopez said the shooting started over a fight about a pool pump, and the whole incident was caught on surveillance footage.
"You hear Mr. Miller yelling to the victim, ‘Where’s my pool pump?’ Mr. Miller then kicks the driver’s side door, opens the door, and begins using the end of his gun to repeatedly strike the victim in the head," Lopez said during a press conference on Monday. "In one of those initial strikes, you hear the gun go off, and you can see Mr. Miller quickly running away from the scene."
FOX 35’s Hannah Mackenzie asked Lopez if he thought the shooting was accidental.
"That’s not for me to decide. There are a number of possibilities that could have happened during this incident. The moral of the story is: don’t pistol whip somebody," Lopez said. "This isn’t a mobster movie, or Grand Theft Auto, or a video game. This is real life, and if you don’t know how to properly handle a firearm, you shouldn’t be holding one."
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According to Lopez, tips from the community led deputies to Miller’s location on Sunday morning.
"They arrested Josh," exclaimed Brittany Harrell. "Oh my God, they got him… Thank you, Jesus!"
Harrell, Beck’s estranged wife and mother to his three children, learned about Miller’s arrest during an interview with FOX 35.
"I feel like justice for Joey can be served now," she said. "I had to tell my three children that love him so much, regardless of the past and things that we’ve been through with him and his troubles in life, that now they don’t have a dad."
Harrell said the whole incident feels surreal, and she doesn’t understand why it happened. She said Beck and Miller were close friends.
"Not even two, three days ago, Josh and Joey were posting pictures with my three kids, saying they were having a good time," Harrell said. "It just doesn’t make any sense to me."
Harrell said the one positive is that Beck is an organ donor. She just signed off on donating his corneas.
"He’ll be able to give somebody sight… even though he passed away," Harrell said. "It’s something I know he’ll be able to give somebody else."
As for Miller, he is being held at the Osceola County jail on no bond. According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Miller has a history of incarceration. Most recently, he was serving time for felony battery and was only released three months ago.
According to Sheriff Lopez, after his arrest on Sunday, Miller confessed to the crimes with which he is charged.