Man Gets Life in Prison for Killing 74-Y-O Pentecostal Minister With His 'Only Hammer'
A man who fatally beat beloved 74-year-old Brockton, Massachusetts, Pastor Lee Harmon to death with the preacher's "only hammer" in a "savage" unprovoked attack in 2013 was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison Thursday.
Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced in a statement Thursday that the pastor's killer, Carlos Ramon Velazquez, 28, was found guilty in Brockton Superior Court. He is expected to serve his sentence at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution-Cedar Junction in Walpole.
"This was a savage beating of a 74-year-old man that shocked and sickened our community," Cruz said in statement when Velazquez was arrested in 2013. "The state police detectives from my office and the Brockton Police have worked tirelessly to bring the person who murdered Lee Harmon to justice."
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In his statement Thursday, Cruz noted that at approximately 8:42 p.m. on Aug. 20, 2013, Brockton Police were called to the parking lot at 120 Clinton Street about an injured man.
The injured man turned out to be Harmon, who was well known in the community as a "good-deed doer," and would often be seen riding his bike all over the city. Rescue crews found him laying with his bike still between his legs. He was pronounced dead and an autopsy later determined Harmon died of blunt force injury to the head.
Witnesses told investigators they heard a crash and a commotion that night, including breaking of glass and then a verbal confrontation. When they arrived in the parking lot they found Harmon bleeding from what appeared to be massive head wounds, as well as a large gash in his right lower arm.
One witness assisted police in developing a detailed sketch and several anonymous tips eventually led to Velazquez's arrest nearly three weeks later. Further investigation revealed that following a confrontation with the pastor on the fateful night, Velazquez unleashed a violent tirade on Harmon and beat him with a hammer about his head and body until the hammer head broke off its wooden handle. The Boston Globe reports that the murder weapon was Harmon's "only hammer."
After the verdict was read Thursday, two of Harmon's family members told Velazquez they had forgiven him and apologized to his family for what they were going through.
"Mr. Harmon was beloved by his family and many in the community," Cruz said. "The reflection of his gentle demeanor and warm-hearted character was evident in the courtroom today with the amount of forgiveness that flowed from his family toward the defendant, just minutes after a guilty verdict was read."
The Christian Post reached out to the family for further comment on Thursday but they were unavailable.
According to an obituary on Harmon's life, after spending time working as a teacher he became the pastor of Zion Pentecostal Church of God in Christ, Brockton where he served for several years under Superintendent Roy Owens.
He later joined the Bethesda Healing Temple COGIC under Elder Bobby Cheers, where he served faithfully as an associate elder and was a member in good standing until his death.
