TAVERNIER – (CBS4) – A former Miami Beach Police captain was convicted Friday of two counts of attempted second degree murder by a jury in the Florida Keys.
The jury found that William Thomas Skinner, 55, tried to kill his wife and her new boyfriend in June 2009 when he showed up at the boyfriend’s house in Tavernier and began shooting at the couple. The wife was not harmed but the boyfriend was shot in the shoulder. Skinner then allegedly tried to beat the man to death with a plank of wood.
Skinner served 23 years with the Miami Beach Police Department before retiring in 2003. Skinner’s defense attorneys had argued he was legally insane at the time of the shooting. But the jury disagreed. Skinner was also convicted of armed burglary.
The trial lasted two weeks and Monroe County Assistant State Attorney Colleen Dunne said she was satisfied with the jury’s verdict.
Monroe County State Attorney Dennis Ward said Skinner is facing the possibility of being sentenced to three life terms in prison.
