Benjamin Austin Paige is a Florida man who pleaded no contest to second-degree murder for the May 2020 fatal shooting of 24-year-old Terence Lamar Brown Jr. in Lehigh Acres. On April 25, 2022, Lee County Judge Margaret Steinbeck sentenced him to 35 years in state prison with a 25-year mandatory minimum.1News-Press. Benjamin Paige Found Guilty in Fatal Lehigh Acres Shooting
The Lehigh Acres Shooting
On the morning of Sunday, May 17, 2020, Lee County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a shooting in the 3000 block of 25th Street Southwest in Lehigh Acres. They found Brown in the front yard of a home, dead from multiple gunshot wounds. The death was ruled a homicide shortly before 10 a.m.2News-Press. Port Charlotte Man Suspect in Fatal Shooting of Lehigh Acres Man
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said Paige and Brown had met through social media about a week earlier and had been sexually involved. According to Marceno, Paige became furious over Brown’s refusal to delete sexually explicit images the two had shared. Witnesses told investigators that Brown left his home to meet an acquaintance on the day of the shooting, and Paige shot him numerous times.3Miami Herald. Lehigh Acres Homicide Suspect Arrested in Charlotte County
Arrest and Charges
Paige was arrested in Charlotte County around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 20, 2020, three days after the killing.2News-Press. Port Charlotte Man Suspect in Fatal Shooting of Lehigh Acres Man He was transferred to the Lee County Jail on Friday, May 22, 2020, and a judge set bond at $2 million.4WINK News. Lehigh Acres Homicide Suspect Held on $2 Million Bond
Prosecutors charged him with second-degree murder by firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He remained in the Lee County Jail throughout the pretrial proceedings.5News-Press. Man Charged in Fatal Lehigh Acres Shooting
Prior Criminal Record
Paige was 22 at the time of the shooting and had a Charlotte County record dating back to 2011 that included theft, narcotics, weapons, and burglary charges.1News-Press. Benjamin Paige Found Guilty in Fatal Lehigh Acres Shooting In 2016, he was convicted in Charlotte County of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and sent to state prison. He served about three and a half years on that charge, from July 2016 until January 2020, meaning he had been out of prison only about four months when Brown was killed. In April 2020, weeks before the homicide, he was arrested again in Charlotte County on drug possession and loitering charges, but that case was dropped.6Your Sun. Port Charlotte Man Charged in Lehigh Acres Homicide
Plea and 35-Year Sentence
On April 25, 2022, Paige entered a plea of no contest to second-degree murder by firearm before Judge Steinbeck. The state attorney’s office declined to prosecute the separate felon-in-possession charge.1News-Press. Benjamin Paige Found Guilty in Fatal Lehigh Acres Shooting
Steinbeck adjudicated him guilty and imposed a 35-year state prison sentence with a 25-year mandatory minimum. Paige received credit for 705 days already served in the Lee County Jail. The court ordered him to pay $21,732 in charges, costs, and fees, with restitution held in reserve, and prohibited him from contacting the victim’s next of kin.1News-Press. Benjamin Paige Found Guilty in Fatal Lehigh Acres Shooting