Police: Fort Lauderdale man killed ex-roommate for taking light bulbs when he moved

Dr. Jack · #1 05-26-2006, 09:47 AM

Police: Fort Lauderdale man killed ex-roommate for taking light bulbs when he moved

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Brass knuckles weren't enough to settle an argument over light bulbs, police said, so Phillip Bryant pulled out a rifle and shot his ex-roommate dead.

After talking with Bryant's family, detectives convinced Bryant, 41, to turn himself in at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department about 2 p.m. Thursday, said Detective Katherine Collins. Police had identified Bryant Wednesday night in connection with the death of Leon Swint, 40, at the Bashful Gardens apartment complex, where they recently shared a home.

Detectives arrested Bryant on a murder charge and he is being held without bail.

Police said Swint returned to Bashful Gardens, in the 2300 block of Northwest Eighth Street, to visit friends Wednesday night. According to Bryant's arrest report, Bryant accosted Swint because he thought his ex-roommate took too many light bulbs from the apartment when he moved out.

The argument turned physical, and Bryant bashed Swint with a pair of brass knuckles, police said. Bryant walked back to his apartment, pulled out a long-barreled rifle and fired a shot into Swint's head, the report said.

Swint's brother in Macon, Ga., said he was shocked at the circumstances of the shooting. Tony Swint, 42, said his brother was an easygoing roofer who worked with a company in Tamarac.

"When they said he was arguing, I can't even see him arguing. I've never known him to argue," Swint said in a phone interview. Several witnesses picked Bryant out of a photo lineup, the arrest report said.

Bryant's criminal history includes convictions for illegal gambling, impersonating a police officer and trafficking in stolen property. He also pleaded no contest in 1997 to aggravated assault, but a judge decided not to formally convict him.

State probation officials have been looking for Bryant for skipping out on his probation in June on the stolen property conviction, according to Florida Department of Corrections records. At the time, Bryant was living in Fort Myers.

Swint said his brother moved to Florida from Georgia 25 years ago and had worked at the 183rd Street flea market in Carol City and as a maintenance man for the now-closed Studio 183. He said he had last talked to his brother Wednesday morning.

On Thursday, he was arranging to have his brother's body brought back to Dublin, Ga., the town where they were raised.

"He told me things were all right," Swint said. "It's senseless, over some light bulbs. To take a life over some light bulbs."