Police say Richard Barker admitted responsibility after officers found Jeffrey Hubbard unresponsive behind a trailer.

VENICE, Fla. — A 42-year-old Venice man is charged with second-degree murder after police say he killed his boss outside a Grove Street business early April 6 and tried to move the body with a trailer.

Richard Dustin Barker was detained at 234 Grove St. S. after officers found Jeffrey Hubbard, 67, unresponsive on the ground, police said. The case moved quickly from a reported fight to a homicide arrest, with investigators saying Barker worked for Hubbard at the same location and later made statements admitting responsibility. Barker also faces a charge of tampering with evidence.

The first call came at about 6:02 a.m., when a witness reported a physical fight between two men in front of the business. Police said the witness saw one man being dragged toward a pickup truck. The suspect then left the scene, leaving Hubbard behind, before returning with a trailer. Officers arrived shortly after and found a red pickup truck with the trailer attached near the property. Hubbard was on the ground behind it, and police and Venice Fire Rescue began life-saving efforts. Hubbard died at the scene. Police Chief Andy Leisenring later said, “While Venice is a safe community, we want the public to understand that serious crime does occur.”

According to police and court records, officers found a bloody white tank top wrapped around Hubbard’s neck. Barker was identified as the driver of the pickup truck and was taken into custody at the scene. Investigators said his statement at the time of contact was captured on a body-worn camera. Police said Barker placed his hands on his head and stated that he had killed Hubbard. The official cause and manner of death were left for the medical examiner to determine. As of the city’s public release, the case remained under investigation, and authorities had not released a final medical finding.

The arrest affidavit added more detail about what detectives say happened before police arrived. Investigators said Barker told them he went to the worksite intending to kill Hubbard. He allegedly said he wore a motorcycle helmet during the attack to protect himself and used a white tank top as a ligature. Police said Barker described a struggle in which Hubbard fought back and scratched Barker’s face under the helmet visor. Detectives said Barker continued until Hubbard was no longer alive, then tried to handle the scene before officers arrived.

Police said the alleged effort to conceal evidence unfolded in several steps. Barker is accused of removing items from Hubbard’s pockets, trying to wash blood from the sidewalk with a hose and attempting to load Hubbard’s body into the truck. When that failed, investigators said, he left the area, got a trailer from a nearby gas station and came back. The witness account and the physical scene became key parts of the early case because they placed Barker, the truck and the trailer at the location before officers detained him.

The relationship between the two men was central to the police account. Investigators said Hubbard was Barker’s employer and that Barker worked for him at the incident location. Police did not identify a final motive in the public release. The affidavit described Barker’s alleged statements about his plan and his actions after the attack, but the public record available so far does not explain what dispute, if any, led up to the killing. Authorities have described the case as isolated and said there was no ongoing threat to the public.

The Grove Street scene drew a broad response from police, fire rescue and investigators. The 200 block of South Grove Street sits in a mixed commercial area of Venice, where early-morning activity can include workers arriving, businesses opening and vehicles moving through side streets. By the time detectives began processing the scene, a reported fight had become a death investigation. Vehicles connected to the scene were examined, and investigators worked for hours to document the area where Hubbard was found.

Leisenring said the arrest was the third murder arrest made by Venice police in the previous six months. His statement placed the case in a wider public safety frame without suggesting a continued danger from this incident. “Our officers and investigators continue to do outstanding work to protect this community and bring cases to resolution,” he said. The department said the State Attorney’s Office was consulted before Barker was charged with second-degree murder and tampering with evidence.

The second-degree murder charge accuses Barker of killing Hubbard without a premeditated first-degree murder count being filed in the initial record. The tampering charge centers on the alleged effort to alter, destroy or conceal physical evidence after the killing. Court records and jail records list the charges, but a charge is not proof of guilt. Barker will have the right to counsel, court hearings and the normal criminal process in Sarasota County.

The case also leaves several unanswered questions. Police have not released the medical examiner’s final cause and manner of death. They have not disclosed whether surveillance video, business records, phone records or additional witness statements have been collected. The affidavit gives investigators’ account of Barker’s statements, but the court process will determine what evidence may be used in later hearings. Hubbard’s death remains the central fact in the case, and the official record now focuses on what prosecutors say they can prove.

For investigators, the early timeline is unusually compressed: a 6:02 a.m. fight call, a witness report of dragging, a departure, a return with a trailer, then police arrival before the body could be moved from the area. That sequence is likely to matter as prosecutors weigh the tampering allegation along with the homicide charge. The trailer, the tank top, the pickup truck, the hose and the body-worn camera statement are all part of the case described by police.

The investigation remains open, and the next public milestone is expected through the medical examiner, court filings or a Sarasota County court hearing. Barker remains accused, not convicted, while Hubbard’s death is handled as a homicide case by Venice police and prosecutors.

Author note: Last updated April 30, 2026.