Scott Larue Behney, aged 58, was tragically shot to death on April 10, 2018, in Fruitland Park, Florida. Behney, originally from Denver, Pennsylvania, was found in a garage on South Dixie Avenue near Palm Street. He was working on his pickup truck when the incident occurred. The Fruitland Park Police Department responded to the scene after receiving reports of gunshots. Upon arrival, they discovered Behney lying in the garage with the door open, indicating a struggle had taken place before the fatal shooting.
The investigation revealed that three individuals were involved in the crime. Tracy Mays, 18, Matthew Splunge, 16, and Larry D. Burrows, 23, were charged with Behney's murder. The trio had been traveling through Fruitland Park with the intent to steal and rob. They spotted Behney working in the garage and saw an opportunity. Mays and Splunge entered the garage to rob Behney, and during the attempted robbery, Behney was shot and killed. The suspects then fled the scene in a black Honda.
A week after the murder, Orlando police spotted the vehicle with a stolen license plate and pursued it. The occupants of the car fled, but the police managed to apprehend some of them and recovered a .45-caliber handgun believed to be the murder weapon. The Fruitland Park Police Department, along with the Lake County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, worked together to close the case and arrest the suspects. All three were charged with murder and attempted robbery.
The case highlighted the random and brutal nature of the crime, as the suspects had no prior connection to Behney. They were simply on a mission to steal and showed no regard for human life. Behney, who frequently traveled to sell motorcycle parts at swap meets, was in Fruitland Park to attend Bikefest later that month. He was staying in a trailer and using the garage to repair his truck when he was tragically killed. The investigation and subsequent arrests brought some measure of justice for Behney's senseless death.
