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Posted by: kwflatbed

A Palm Beach, Fla., sheriff’s deputy with family in Cambridge committed suicide Tuesday night as Florida investigators closed in on his involvement in a suspicious shooting, officials said.
The deputy, Samuel Peixoto, 38, was the brother of Helder “Sonny” Peixoto, 34, a disgraced MBTA cop who jumped to his death from the 11th-floor balcony of a West Palm Beach highrise on May 30, 2007, after he fatally beat his girlfriend, Amity R. Kozak, with a hammer.
Samuel Peixoto had been on paid administrative leave since he killed an illegal immigrant during a traffic stop in suburban West Palm Beach on March 15, said Palm Beach County sheriff’s office spokesman Paul Miller.
We aggressively investigate our own shootings,” said Miller. “We have situations where the shooting may not have been justified. This may have been one of those situations.”
Palm Beach County officials believe Samuel Peixoto became aware that investigators were planning to present manslaughter and evidence-tampering charges against him to a grand jury as a result of the shooting, Miller said.
“There may have been a fabrication of evidence,” Miller said.
Sheriff’s officials initially said Peixoto acted in “self defense” when he fired multiple rounds at Marino Sarbelio Ramos, 35, an illegal immigrant from Guatemala. A full report on the investigation will be released next week, Miller said.
West Palm Beach police and firefighters responded to Peixoto’s apartment at 1441 Brandywine Blvd. at about 11:52 p.m. Tuesday for a report of a vehicle fire, according to an e-mail from the city’s public information officer, Peter Robbins.
The fire spread to Peixoto’s apartment. Once the blaze was extinguished, officials found Peixoto suffering from a fatal gunshot wound to the head, Robbins said. A handgun was found on the floor. Investigators believe Peixoto set the fires before shooting himself, Robbins said.
Peixoto joined the sheriff’s office in April 2006 after serving as a New York City police officer and as an Army private first class. His brother, Helder, moved to Florida after pleading guilty in 2004 to a motor vehicle homicide charge in connection to the death of John J. Todd, 79, at a traffic intersection in Malden.
Kozak’s mother, Pat, expressed sympathy for Peixoto’s kin. “My sympathies to the mother. My heart just breaks for her,” she said.


http://bostonherald.com/news/regiona...icleid=1089258

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Posted by: PapaBear

According to another article I read, Peixoto's brother, a former Mass Transit Officer, killed someone last year and also committed suicide.
Tragic events for all concerned.

Quote:

It had been a challenging year for Peixoto, who lost his brother in a high-profile murder-suicide last year. In May, Helder "Sonny" Peixoto beat Amity Kozak, 29, to death with a hammer in his West Palm Beach home near the Intracoastal Waterway. The former Massachusetts Bay transit police officer then jumped to his death from a downtown condominium.

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Posted by: PBC FL Cop

Quote:

Originally Posted by PapaBear According to another article I read, Peixoto's brother, a former Mass Transit Officer, killed someone last year and also committed suicide.

He jumped out of a window in the building next to my office. The deputy story is the tragic one.

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