Three charged with murder in homeless beating

updated 5:08 p.m. ET Jan. 17, 2006

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Murder charges were brought against a third teenager Tuesday in a string of beatings of homeless men last week.

William Ammons, 18, was charged in the slaying of 45-year-old Norris Gaynor, who was bludgeoned with a baseball bat and died of head injuries. Police said Ammons shot the victim with a paintball gun.

Ammons had initially been accused only of assaulting another homeless man. He was released from jail on $5,000 bail on the assault charge but was arrested again a few hours later on the murder charge.

Ammons, Brian Hooks, 18, and 17-year-old Thomas Daugherty were all arrested in connection with three beatings of homeless men last Thursday. Hooks and Daugherty also face murder charges in Gaynor’s slaying.

Hooks and Daughtery were identified and arrested after one of the beatings was captured on a security video at Florida Atlantic University, police said.

The two other men beaten were identified as Jacques Pierre, 58, and Raymond Perez, 49.

All three attacks happened early Thursday.

The attack on Pierre on the Fort Lauderdale campus of Florida Atlantic University was videotaped by a surveillance camera and the pictures were broadcast widely.

On Monday, Circuit Judge Steven P. DeLuca ordered Daugherty, 17, held for 21 days under juvenile detention and ordered a psychological examination. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether to charge Daugherty as a juvenile or an adult.

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