MIAMI — A man has confessed to the fatal shooting of another man in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood back in August, authorities confirmed in an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News on Friday.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office identified the suspect as 45-year-old Matthew Paige Thomas, who is listed as homeless in the report.
The shooting occurred in the early hours of Aug. 18 in the area of Northwest 18th Avenue and 66th Street.
Deputies from MDSO’s Northside district said they were dispatched to the scene at 4:19 a.m. and found the victim, 38-year-old Terence Lamar Thomas Jr., unresponsive on the sidewalk with a gunshot wound to the left clavicle.
Authorities said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue transported him to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead at 5:12 a.m.
According to investigators, the victim had gotten into an argument with several unknown men, which escalated when one pulled out a gun and shot him.
They said the suspects then fled on foot, and deputies recovered a single 9 mm shell casing at the scene. Video surveillance from the area captured portions of the incident.
An autopsy performed on Aug.19 by the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the victim’s death was a homicide caused by a gunshot wound to the neck.
A man named Bobby told Local 10 News back in August that the victim goes by CJ and is known by everyone in the area.
“He cool, he likes to crack jokes, he had a good spirit, so I feel like whoever did this -- that’s messed up,” Bobby said.
Deputies said Matthew Thomas appeared in court Thursday on an unrelated incident and was subsequently interviewed by MDSO homicide investigators.
He waived his Miranda rights and confessed to the murder, but authorities say the motive remains unclear at this time.
Jail records show he is facing one count of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon.
As of Friday, he was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond was listed as “to be set.”
Records also indicate he has a history of drug-related charges, including cocaine possession.
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