STUART — Described as a loving father and caring person, Jerome Hutchinson was found early Monday morning face down on the sidewalk leading to his East Stuart residence.

The 24-year-old man had been shot in the chest, the second to die in an exceptionally violent weekend in Stuart. The first was Michael Morrison, 43, found early Saturday morning on his back next to his Jeep at The Crossings at Indian Run Apartments less than four miles away.

Morrison also had been shot in the chest, but police haven’t found a nexus between the two killings, police spokesman Sgt. Marty Jacobson said Monday.

“The city of Stuart is a very safe city,” Jacobson said. “This is a very unusual set of occurrences for the city of Stuart.”

Meanwhile, Martin County Sheriff’s Office officials on Friday announced the arrest of a 26-year-old Palm City man in connection with the death of his father. Tyson Larimer Chaffin, 26, reportedly shot his 54-year-old father, Charles Franklin Chaffin, on Aug. 1 in the forehead and buried the body in the family’s Palm City backyard.

In interviews in the East Stuart community Monday, Hutchinson’s loved ones described him as a caring person.

“Whatever he had, if you needed it, he would give it to you,” said Michelle Jacob, the grandmother of Hutchinson’s children. “He loved to smile. He liked to make people happy.”

Hutchinson, a lifelong Stuart resident who worked in landscaping, had two boys, Jahree, who turns 2 in October, and 5-year-old Jerome III, loved ones said.

“He was a dedicated father, loved his kids,” Jacob said. “He loved his family, he loved his friends.”

Hutchinson, who’s been arrested 20 times since 2002, was found in the 900 block of Nassau Avenue after police were called about 12:03 a.m. Monday.

Witnesses reported hearing three shots and seeing three to four males run and get in a vehicle described as a silver Ford Escort with tinted windows and some sort of black stripe designs on the sides.

The two homicides in Stuart over the weekend equal the amount in 2007 and 2008 combined, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. Stuart police in 2006 investigated two homicides and a single homicide the year before that. There were no homicides reported in 2004.

Yellow police tape spilled out of a green garbage can Monday at Hutchinson’s home, where his 25-year-old cousin, Mike Davis, described Hutchinson as a “good kid.”

Davis said his cousin enjoyed playing video games in his spare time. He also like to play poker at Fort Pierce Jai-Alai & Poker.

“Someone needed something, he would give his last to you,” Davis said. “He was that type of a fellow.”

Jacob said she didn’t know what could have lead to Hutchinson’s death, while Davis noted robberies in the area in recent months.

Those with information about the Morrison homicide can call Detective Jeff Kittredge at 220-3911 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at (800) 273-TIPS. Those with information about the Hutchinson killing can call Detective Mike Gerwan at 220-3918 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers.

By Will Greenlee

Tags: apartment, arrest, body, boy, children, communication, Crime, death, detective, father, Florida, grandmother, green, homicide, homicides, infort, investigation, jeep, kids, man, police, robbery, safe, sheriff, shot, sidewalks, slaying, Stuart, video

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