Tow Truck Owner Faces 2nd Degree Murder Charges: Polk Sheriff

POLK COUNTY, FL — A 29-year-old Lakeland business owner faces second degree murder charges after police accused him of killing a customer he and one of his employees got into a fight with about a towed vehicle in Mulberry.

Michael Shane Denn, suspect and owner of Strapped Transport Towing and Recovery, told the victim Monday night who had a vehicle in his impound yard to wait off the property as he retrieved the vehicle for him. Following his request, the victim and another employee got into an argument. However, the victim, who drove another car to the tow truck business obliged and backed the car into the roadway in the 1300 block of Virginia Street.

After he parked his car in the roadway, the employee he had gotten into an argument with walked over to the his window and punched him repeatedly, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office. When the victim tried to get out of his car, the employee shut the door and kept punching him. Eventually, the victim hit the employee with his car, which caused the employee to fly into the air and land in the business's yard. The victim got out of his vehicle and tried to run toward the trunk and away from the suspect, who was standing in the roadway. As he ran away, the suspect shot three rounds at him, according to the police report.

The third bullet struck him on the right side of his head, and he fell to the ground, detectives said.

The victim died at the scene, and the employee is being treated at a local hospital and was last reported in stable condition.

During the investigation, the suspect said he did not see the victim with any weapons or hear him make any threats, investigators said. Based on the interview and investigation, authorities said Denn intentionally shot at the victim. Denn was arrested on charges of second degree murder