FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Fort Lauderdale Police have confirmed that a man accused of leading police on a chase is a “person of interest” in a double homicide.
Police confirmed, Wednesday, that 64-year-old Daniel Dovi could be tied to the case of two men found stabbed to death on Fort Lauderdale Beach, Tuesday.
Police said Dovi had “sharp weapons” as well as freshly-washed clothing in his Jeep.
Investigators said Dovi was the driver who led police on a chase through Broward County. Near where the chase started, police were investigating the double homicide, where one of the two bodies had been mutilated.
Police have concluded that the two incidents may be related.
Dovi already faces multiple charges, including aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and appeared in a virtual bond court meeting Wednesday morning.
“You’re before the court this morning on eight separate charges. Counts one and two are each a separate count of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. I do believe that Mr. Dovi is a danger to the community. I believe he’s a flight risk,” said the judge.
Chris Dovi, the Pennsylvania resident’s brother, also appeared in the meeting and spoke to the judge.
“Dan was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and he’s been on disability for the last eight years,” Dovi said. “From what I heard, he’s been off his medications for a year.”
7SkyForce HD flew over the scene of the chase when a Florida Highway Patrol trooper performed a pit maneuver on the vehicle just north of Hillsboro Boulevard, causing the Jeep to roll over and land on its side.
According to property owner Michael Jones, the chaotic chain of events started in Fort Lauderdale, when he saw the Jeep parked on his empty lot on Center Avenue, near Oakland Park Boulevard and A1A.
“I asked him, I said, ‘Excuse me, sir, is this your Jeep?’ I was going to tell him to remove it from the property. It’s not his,” Jones said. “He said, ‘Yeah. What the eff is it to you?’ I said, ‘Well, it’s my property. You can’t park here. No problem with you parking overnight.’ He approached me, he pushed me on the ground. He was acting crazy. I defused the situation by saying, ‘You’re right, you’re right. I got back in my car, I called 911.”
Jones said the man slammed his Jeep into his car before fleeing the scene.
He said, “I saw this guy, there was crazy in his eyes. I know crazy when I see it.”
Just a few blocks away from the scene, Fort Lauderdale Police worked the double homicide investigation by the beach.
Investigators said two men appeared to have been stabbed to death at around 6:15 a.m.
“I can imagine the shock of somebody walking out here at 6 o’clock in the morning and discovering something like this,” said area resident Lee Rebalko.
Dovi is currently being held on a $97,000 bond.
The judge ordered him to have pre-trial release supervision with a GPS monitor and was ordered to not have any contact with Jones. He is also not permitted to return to the property near Oakland Park Boulevard and A1A.
Police ask anyone with information on the incidents to come forward. Anyone with video or information they believe may help investigators can contact Detective Wood at 954-828-5344.
“Right now, we’re encouraging residents and business owners to review their video footage from that night to see if they have anything that could help us or anything they find to be suspicious,” Fort Lauderdale Police Detective Ali Adamson said.
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