Gardens attack victim, 77, has died
Police identify person of interest in the Sept. 11 strong-armed robbery.
The 77-year-old Jupiter
PALM BEACH GARDENS — man attacked Sept. 11 in a Palm Beach Gardens parking lot has died, city police said Wednesday.
Bernard Leonard Fairman died “a couple of days ago” from injuries sustained in the strong-armed robbery outside the Stein Mart clothing store at the Shoppes at Oakbrook plaza, police said.
Two people in the parking lot, at the north end of the shopping center on U.S. 1 north of PGA Boulevard, stepped in to help Fairman. They declined to speak with reporters.
City police are calling Fairman’s death a homicide and say they have identified a person of interest in his death.
“It’s definitely one of the most horrendous and heinous crimes that we have seen,” said Maj. Paul Rogers at a news conference Wednesday.
Authorities suspect that robbery was the motive in the attack but said Wednesday they aren’t positive. “That’s why we’re asking for the public’s help,” Rogers said.
Police said the incident appears to be isolated, though they did not elaborate on why. More officers have been patrolling the area since the attack.
Palm Beach Gardens police want to make contact with a person seen around the time of the attack in surveillance-camera footage from the Publix Super Market at the south end of the shopping center. Officers described the man as a white male in his mid-to-late 20s. He is 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and has a thin build, they said.
The images show the man wearing a distinct T-shirt with the word “OUR” on the back, police said. The man also has a large tattoo on the outside of his left calf.
It was unclear Wednesday what the tattoo is of.
Fairman’s death marks the second reported homicide this year in the city. Jovanni Alexander Sierra Brand, 13, was stabbed to death at a sleepover in March by 17-year-old Corey Johnson at a home in BallenIsles Country Club. There were two confirmed homicides in Palm Beach Gardens during 2017, according to a Palm Beach Post online database.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to contact the Palm Beach Gardens Police Department at 561-799-4445, or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 800-458-TIPS (8477). Callers to Crime Stoppers can be anonymous.