UPDATE VI: In the video above is the Tundidor residence in Plantation, which was owned by Morrissey and where the homicide victim lived until a year and a half ago. I spoke to some neighbors, and they said that they hadn't seen the suspect, Randy Tundidor, there but that his father, mother, grandmother, and two brothers lived there. They said they were nice people, as was Morrissey, who did the requisite waving and hellos but wasn't very close with his neighbors. Follow the short video to the end and there's a gas can sitting in the front. Considering that the fire at Morrissey's house was set with gasoline, it's eerie to see that sitting there outside the house. I'm thinking the cops, if they don't already know where the gas came from, might want to pick it up.
UPDATE IV: A lawyer gave the Sun-Sentinel the name of the "person of interest" in the Morrissey murder: 21-year-old Randy Tundidor.
The mug shot is from his arrest yesterday for failing to report to his probation officer on a previous burglary conviction. Wonder where those marks came from.
His lawyer told the Sentinel that Tundidor has drug problems. Tundidor is a big fellow, listed as 5-foot-11, 250 pounds on his arrest.
UPDATE V: Channel 10, as Christy first noted below, is reporting that Tundidor's family lives in a townhouse at 9107 Vineyard Lake Drive in Plantation that is owned by the murder victim, Morrissey.
UPDATE III: Plantation police spokesman Robert Rettig told me that the department is looking for more suspects in the home invasion involving NSU Professor Joseph Morrissey.
He also said the man who was arrested at Beverly Hills Cafe yesterday remains in custody after being charged with another crime unrelated to the Morrissey case. The man remains a person of interest in the case.
Police believe the home was specifically targeted, but Rettig wouldn't elaborate.
"They are working around the clock on this case," Rettig said of the homicide detectives.
UPDATED II: I just spoke with the manager at Beverly Hills Cafe on Cleary Boulevard in Plantation, where the suspect in the Joseph Morrissey murder was taken down by the SWAT team yesterday shortly after 3 p.m.
Manager Sandra Marcelo told me that about 15 heavily armed SWAT members burst into her restaurant from both the front and rear doors and immediately took down the suspect, whom she described as a white male in his late 20s, wearing black basketball shorts, black shoes, and a black shirt. He had tattoos on both arms and his neck, she said. "He looked like
clock on this case," Rettig said of the homicide detectives.
UPDATED II: I just spoke with the manager at Beverly Hills Cafe on Cleary Boulevard in Plantation, where the suspect in the Joseph Morrissey murder was taken down by the SWAT team yesterday shortly after 3 p.m.
Manager Sandra Marcelo told me that about 15 heavily armed SWAT members burst into her restaurant from both the front and rear doors and immediately took down the suspect, whom she described as a white male in his late 20s, wearing black basketball shorts, black shoes, and a black shirt. He had tattoos on both arms and his neck, she said. "He looked like an average Joe," Marcelo said.
The suspect came into the restaurant and ordered a meal carrying cash in his hand, said Marcelo. She later learned that he had $152 on him at the time, along with a pack of Newport cigarettes and a red lighter.
Obvious question: Did that cash come from the ATM that the assailant robbed using Morrissey's account?
"He was very nervous," said Marcelo, who was in the back office when police rushed into her restaurant. "He moved around to three different tables, which we thought was odd. He plugged his cell phone into our outlet and then unplugged it. As soon as he sat down, they came in."
Plantation police spokesman told
Marcelo said that once the suspect was on the ground and cuffed, a police officer told her that he was a "fugitive who was wanted." She said the suspect never uttered a word throughout the arrest.
The suspect had eaten in the restaurant before, but she didn't know his identity. She said she is still traumatized by the event. "I had guests, and they had them at gunpoint in my restaurant. They came in the back and front door, and I mean they had full gear. They had shields and very large guns on shoulder straps. They were not messing around."
She said one customer thought a movie was being filmed in the restaurant and brought out a phone to take a picture. An armed officer ordered the customer to put the phone down.
"I'm sure they have a reason for it, but why would they do that?" Marcelo asked about the police tactics. "Why would they go into a family restaurant? Why didn't they wait for him to go outside. Maybe they thought he was still armed."
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Channel 4 is reporting this morning that Plantation police forcefully swooped in on a suspect in the murder of scientist and Nova Professor Joseph Morrissey yesterday afternoon at the Beverly Hills Cafe in Plantation and have him in custody while he is being questioned.
Police Chief W. Howard Harrison confirmed that they have taken a "person of interest" in the apparent home invasion, during which Morrissey and his wife were tied up and Morrissey was killed. His wife was able to escape with their 5-year old son after the assailant used gasoline to set the house on fire. From the WFOR report:
The restaurant's manager said the man had ordered chicken fingers just before the authorities stormed in. The manager said the officers told everyone in the restaurant to keep their hands up while they took the person out the back of the restaurant.
Chief Harrison said he feels confident in the breakthrough in the case.
"I still have my detectives out there," he said. "They're still following up on leads, collecting evidence. We want to do it right."
Also related to the Morrissey case, someone posted in a comment on this blog that "on-site workers" had said that Morrissey's ear and fingers had been
cut off during the crime. I spoke with someone in Plantation who has professional and direct knowledge of the Morrissey crime scene, and that person too said he or she had learned that Morrissey's ear had been cut. That person also said that Morrissey's fingers had not been cut but had possibly been broken on one hand.
I want to stress that this is not officially confirmed, but because the information had been posted here by a commenter and was partially confirmed by someone who was there in an official capacity, I am guardedly reporting what I have been told. Police spokesman Rettig says he has heard no information to confirm it. Hopefully we'll have the complete and accurate story soon.
UPDATED I: The source also told me that Morrissey had been stabbed -- and that was just confirmed by police, according to a WPLG report.
