A 22-year-old Hartford man is being held in a jail near the Florida Panhandle following the death of his great-uncle last week.
Dakota Mitchell Lavanway is being held on $150,000 bail in a county jail in Blountstown, Fla., on initial charges of premeditated murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to the Calhoun County Sheriff Department’s website.
Lavanway’s great-uncle, Gerald Becker Sr., formerly of Claremont, died after an altercation at a boat landing on Jan. 17 near Blountstown, according to the Calhoun County State’s Attorney’s Office, which said the circumstances of the homicide remain under investigation.
Lavanway hasn’t been charged formally through an indictment process in Florida, according to the State’s Attorney’s Office. The affidavit and complaint in the case aren’t yet public, officials said.
Messages left for sheriff’s investigators handling the case weren’t returned on Thursday.
Gerald Becker Jr., a Charlestown resident, said his 61-year-old father was transported via ambulance to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital following an altercation and died on Saturday.
Becker Jr. said his father, who was disabled, had lived in Claremont as recently as last summer and had been in the city on and off for the past 10 or 15 years. Becker Sr. was homeless in Florida at the time of his death, his son said.
Becker Sr. had a hard life and had been in and out of prison but was trying to turn things around, he said.
Becker Sr.’s sister, Tina Osmer, seconded that. Her brother had his troubles and had been in declining health, but there is no excuse for the way he died, she said.
“I want justice, I really do,” said Osmer, of South Royalton.
Right now, her focus is on staying strong for his seven children, some of whom he didn’t have great relationships with, she said. Becker Sr. was one of six children. He was predeceased by his parents.
It wasn’t clear if Lavanway had faced a judge yet, or when he would.
Lavanway has one prior conviction on his record in Windsor County. He was found guilty in 2015 of disorderly conduct, court documents state. At that time, he was living in Wilder. A Facebook account associated with his name said he attended Hartford Memorial Middle School and Hartford High School.
Blountstown is a town of about 2,500 about an hour east of Tallahassee.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com.