A man who was allowed to take refuge in a Florida church has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed a pastor to death inside the place of worship.
According to CBS News Miami, 44-year-old James Dawkins has been charged with killing the pastor of Westview Baptist Church, 41-year-old Antwane Lenoir, on April 6. The pastor, who was
employed as an armed security guard, called a locksmith to change several door locks in the church. While the locksmith was at Westview, Dawkins and Lenoir reportedly got into a verbal dispute. The pastor had allowed Dawkins to live at the church temporarily. According to police, as the men continued to argue, without provocation, Dawkins stabbed Lenoir several times before fleeing from the church.Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived to find Lenoir’s body on the ground with multiple stab wounds in his neck.
Police
officers discovered Dawkins around NW 62nd Street and NW 27th Avenue and took him into custody the next day. When questioned, police said Dawkins gave a “self-serving” statement that “was determined not to be consistent with the evidence obtained throughout the course of the investigation.”7 News Miami reported that Lenoir’s family said Dawkins played
the keyboard at the church. When he fell on hard times, the pastor offered to help him and allowed the 44-year-old to stay at Westview. Lenoir was killed when he allegedly tried to end the arrangement.Lenoir was married with four children between the ages of 13 and 20, according to CBS News Miami, who spoke to his wife, Bree. She spoke highly of her husband and didn’t think she’d be without him.
She told the media outlet, “He was a very good example of a selfless individual, a joy-filled person. “He always smiled, and even if things were looking kind of grim or dreary, you wouldn’t know it by his countenance.”