3 suspects in custody after allegedly fatally beating man and dumping body in Florida

MILTON, Fla. (TCD) -- Three suspects are in custody after a 32-year-old man from Louisiana was found deceased in Santa Rosa County, Florida.

According to a news release from the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, on Tuesday, June 14, detectives with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office found the victim's body in a waterway in their jurisdiction. The victim, later identified as Joshua James of Lacombe, Louisiana, was floating within a "little canal," Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said in a press conference.

Upon further investigation, authorities reportedly concluded Johnson had been beaten to death in Louisiana before the suspects dumped the body out of state. Johnson said investigators believe the suspects chose to leave the body in Florida at random.

According to the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office, the two suspects, 36-year-old Patrick McCarty and 37-year-old Jason James, both of Lacombe, Louisiana, were arrested and charged with second-degree murder and obstruction of justice. A 17-year-old male was also reportedly arrested and booked into the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center on the same two charges. Authorities did not disclose the juvenile suspect's name.

Johnson said one of the suspects, James, is the brother of the victim, and McCarty is a friend of the brother.

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