LAKELAND, Fla. — Police in central Florida said they have linked two cold case homicides to a 22-year-old Tampa man.
A Lakeland newspaper reported that a grand jury has issued two indictments charging Benjamin Davis Smiley Jr. in both crimes.
According to court documents, Smiley killed 46-year-old Carmen Riley on March 23, 2013, in Lakeland. Less than a month later, authorities say Smiley then killed Clifford Drake at his Lakeland home.
Detectives have said they believed the two slayings were connected.
Smiley is currently serving a six-year prison sentence for an armed robbery in Hillsborough County. The Ledger reports that the new indictments charge him with two counts of first-degree murder, along with charges of armed robbery, aggravated assault and tampering with evidence.
Jail records did not show whether Smiley had an attorney.