A beloved Florida pastor was stabbed and killed by a man whom he allowed to live inside the church.
The suspect, identified as 44-year-old James Dawkins, was charged with first-degree murder for the death of Antwane Lenoir, the pastor at Westview Baptist Church in Opa-locka, in a city in Miami-Dade County, WSVN reported.
The victim’s cousin, Yovonka Bryant, told the outlet Lenoir was helping Dawkins, the church’s keyboard player, with a living arrangement by letting him temporarily stay on the property. However, he recently decided to end their agreement and hired a locksmith to change the locks.
“And the guy got wind that he wouldn’t have anywhere else to go, so he actually showed up to the church, and I think things got to be heated between he and my cousin, and [Dawkins] ended up stabbing him,” Bryant explained about the verbal dispute that reportedly occurred on Saturday, April 6, in the parking lot.
According to the news station, 41-year-old Lenoir was struck in the neck several times and died on the scene. Dawkins fled but was later taken into custody the next day. He had a court appearance on Monday and is now currently being housed in a local jail without bond.
Lenoir served as pastor and built a community at the church for about 15 years, his wife Bree told CBS News. The couple, who have four children, tied the knot two decades ago. Lenoir is well-known in the Miami-area for anti-violence work and mentoring youth and helping family in the surrounding area near his church and beyond.
“He was a very good example of a selfless individual, a joy-filled person,” Bree said. “He always smiled, even if things were looking kind of grim or dreary, you wouldn’t know it by his countenance.”
Miami-Dade County Public Schools school board member Steve Gallon III called Lenoir’s murder a “senseless loss” on Sunday.
His cousin, Bryant, and other devastated community members, including Opa-locka mayor, John Taylor II, echoed similar sentiments.
“He was a very nice man, and he would give you the shirt off his back,” Bryant told WSVN. “He was so generous and so kind to a lot of people.”
In a statement posted on Facebook, Taylor said, “The City of Opa-locka grieves the loss of a Noble Man and friend. We were blessed to have this Great Man as apart of our community, serving in many capacities to ensure that our residents had a voice. As a unified body we pray that God strengthens his family, friends and ministry through these trying time.”
