Kenneth Lee Wesley, 35, of Lakeland, died on May 29, 2016, after being found unresponsive in the roadway at 1146 Skyview Blvd with a gunshot wound to his upper left torso. Polk County deputies pronounced him dead at the scene.

Investigators identified 29-year-old Lakeland resident Jonathan Hepburn as the primary suspect. According to the arrest affidavit, an argument between Wesley and Hepburn over Wesley’s interactions with Hepburn’s girlfriend, Amanda Castro, escalated over two days. The affidavit says Wesley visited Hepburn’s home on the evening of May 29; Hepburn claimed Wesley threatened him with a knife, that Hepburn struck Wesley with a retractable baton which then broke, and that Hepburn retrieved an assault rifle and shot Wesley as Wesley attempted to leave the property.

Hepburn was arrested and charged with murder. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder under a plea agreement and received a 20-year prison sentence followed by five years of probation. The defense argued self-defense, but the court found the facts did not support that claim.

Did anyone in the Lakeland community have contact with Wesley around late May 2016 or information about the dispute with Hepburn?