A report of two men fighting became a homicide case within minutes on South Grove Street.
VENICE, Fla. — A witness report of a fight outside a South Grove Street business led officers to a homicide scene April 6, where police say an employee had killed his boss and returned with a trailer.
The witness account helped shape the first known timeline in the death of Jeffrey Hubbard, 67. Police said Richard Dustin Barker, 42, was detained at the scene and later charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Investigators said Barker worked for Hubbard at the incident location and made statements admitting responsibility after officers arrived.
The case began not with a body discovery, but with a call about violence in progress. The caller told authorities that two men were fighting outside 234 Grove St. S. before one of them was dragged toward a pickup truck. Police said the caller then saw the suspect leave the area and come back with a trailer. That detail became important because officers arrived shortly after and found Hubbard on the ground behind a trailer attached to a pickup truck. Venice police and Venice Fire Rescue tried to save him, but Hubbard died at the scene.
Police said Barker was still there when officers made contact with him. He stepped out of the vehicle, put his hands on his head and made a statement that police described as an admission. The statement was recorded on body-worn camera, according to investigators. The words reported by police were blunt and profane, and they became one of the most direct pieces of evidence described in the affidavit. Barker was detained, and the scene shifted from an emergency response to a criminal investigation.
Investigators said Hubbard was found with a bloody white tank top wrapped around his neck. The affidavit says Barker later told detectives he used the shirt during the attack. Police also said Barker wore a motorcycle helmet, which he allegedly described as protection during the assault. Hubbard fought back, detectives said Barker told them, and scratched Barker’s face under the helmet visor. Investigators did not release the medical examiner’s final finding, and the city said the official cause and manner of death would be determined later.
The witness report also supported the tampering charge. Police said Barker first tried to move Hubbard toward the pickup truck, then left Hubbard at the location when he could not complete the effort. Investigators said he later returned with a trailer, placing the witness account, the vehicle and the trailer in the same short timeline. Police also accused Barker of removing items from Hubbard’s pockets and trying to wash blood from the sidewalk with a hose. Those actions are part of the allegation that Barker tried to alter or conceal evidence after the killing.
The location gave investigators a clear relationship between the two men. Police said Barker was employed by Hubbard at the South Grove Street site. Public statements did not name a resolved motive or explain any prior dispute between them. The affidavit described what detectives say Barker admitted after his arrest, including that he went to the location intending to kill Hubbard. Prosecutors charged second-degree murder, a count that in Florida can cover a killing described as dangerous and depraved without requiring the first-degree element of premeditation in the filed charge.
Police Chief Andy Leisenring used the arrest announcement to address public concern in the city. “While Venice is a safe community, we want the public to understand that serious crime does occur,” Leisenring said. He said the case marked the third murder arrest made by the department in six months. The department also said the incident was believed to be isolated and that there was no ongoing threat to the public. That statement came the same day officers announced the arrest.
The early-morning timing mattered because the witness was able to describe a sequence before police reached the business. Officers were dispatched at about 6:02 a.m., when many nearby businesses would not yet be fully active. A fight, a pickup truck, the dragging report and the trailer return all happened before officers reached the scene. Once they arrived, first responders focused on Hubbard, while officers detained Barker and secured the area for detectives.
Records from the case list Barker as facing homicide and evidence tampering counts. Jail booking information shows he was booked April 6 in Sarasota County. Court records will determine the next steps, including appearances, plea status, motions, evidence disputes and any trial schedule. Barker has not been convicted, and the allegations must be tested in court. The public record so far comes from police statements, the arrest affidavit and the charges filed after consultation with the State Attorney’s Office.
The evidence described by police is direct but still incomplete. Investigators have cited a witness, body-worn camera, the condition of the body, the tank top, the trailer and Barker’s alleged interview statements. They have not released a final autopsy conclusion or a full investigative report. They also have not said whether there are security cameras at or near the business, whether digital devices were searched, or whether anyone else saw the men together before the fight. Those facts may emerge through public records or court filings.
The scene color in the case is stark: a commercial block, a red pickup truck, a trailer and a man lying behind it before sunrise. Police said officers and firefighters tried life-saving measures even as the suspected attacker remained at the location. The affidavit says Barker’s statement came as officers made contact with him. Leisenring said the department’s officers and investigators continued “to protect this community and bring cases to resolution.”
The medical examiner must complete official findings, prosecutors must move the case through Sarasota County court, and defense counsel will have the chance to challenge the evidence. For now, the witness call remains the event that brought police to the scene before Hubbard’s body could be moved away from South Grove Street.
Author note: Last updated April 30, 2026.