New York man charged with beating to death two men pleads not guilty to Miami slayings
Brenton Clarke was arrested three weeks ago in bloodstained clothes for allegedly beating to death two men and hospitalizing two other people in downtown Miami. On Thursday, he plead not guilty to the felony charges against him.
In a 9:30 a.m. arraignment hearing, a public defender entered a written plea of not guilty for Clarke, 36, on the charges against him — two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder and one count of robbery with a deadly weapon, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office said.
Clarke remains at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he will stay for the remainder of his trial.
READ MORE: 2 dead, 2 hurt in what police are describing as an attack on homeless people in Miami
Around 5:45 a.m. Jan. 16, Clarke started attacking people sleeping on the sidewalk near North Miami Avenue and Northwest Sixth Street, not that far from the new Miami Central train station.
Clarke, armed with a metal rod, assaulted and killed Kinard Shirley, 37, and Marshall Ragsdale, 66, Miami police say. Additionally, cops noted he seriously injured a man and a woman sleeping together. He was arrested shortly after, surveillance footage leading detectives to him.
Friends and family spoke fondly Shirley and Ragsdale, remembering them as hard-working, endearing men. Many were caught of guard by the sudden news of their “violent” and “senseless” deaths.
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