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Police: Convicted felon kills homeless man at public park in Florida Keys

Monroe County deputies accuse felon of fatally beating 54-year-old man at Marathon Community Park

Deputies arrested Lee Quinn on Saturday after a murder at the Marathon Community Park. (MCSO, Google Street View)

MARATHON, Fla. – A 37-year-old convicted felon was at the Monroe County Jail’s Key West facility on Sunday accused of killing a 54-year-old man, records show.

Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested Lee Charles Quinn on Saturday at the corner of Overseas Highway and 39 Street in Marathon.

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The murder was across the street at the Marathon Community Park, a popular area with soccer fields, and tennis and basketball courts.

Deputies reported Quinn had beaten up William Claude Prichett before a doctor at the nearby Fishermen’s Community Hospital pronounced him dead.

William Claude Pritchett. (MCSO, Google Street View)

Deputies reported both Prichett and Quinn were homeless. Both had criminal records.

Quinn, born in Polk County, has a long criminal record in South Florida that goes back to an arrest when he was 18 years old in Davie.

According to the Florida Department of Corrections, Quinn, also known as Christopher and Charles, has five convictions.

Four convictions were in 2008 in Broward County for 2005 cases of burglary, grand theft, and possession of a controlled substance. He was in prison for about seven months.

The fifth conviction was for grand theft of a motor vehicle in 2009 in Monroe County. He was convicted and sentenced to a year and four months in prison. Corrections released him on Jan. 18, 2012.

Lee Charles Quinn has a long criminal record including convictions in Monroe and Broward counties. (FDOT, MCSO)

Late last year, MCSO deputies arrested Quinn again in Marathon after he allegedly threatened to kill them and reached for a deputy’s gun. Prosecutors charged him with battery on a police officer, attempting to deprive an officer of means of protection, resisting an officer, and threats to law enforcement.

Court records show a Monroe County judge sentenced him to 150 days behind bars and gave him credit for 111 days in jail. On Sunday, records show Quinn was facing a second-degree murder charge.

Princhett, the murder victim, has a criminal record that included DUI arrests in South Florida and Texas, where he was from. In 2015, during a DUI arrest, Princhett told deputies that he was visiting friends in Marathon.

Jail log records show a judge set Quinn’s bond to $750,000 and his arraignment hearing was set for 9 a.m., on July 2.

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About the Author
Andrea Torres headshot

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

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