A Tampa jury has convicted a 52-year-old Florida man of first-degree murder for fatally dumping an unconscious man into the water at a Ruskin marina following a Memorial Day weekend fight fueled by alcohol and heated words over a fiancée.
Kamal Padlowski was found guilty late Wednesday in the May 25, 2024, death of Melvin Jimenez, 47. Prosecutors said the two men met as strangers at a nearby tiki bar, continued drinking on Padlowski’s sailboat, and then clashed on the dock at Little Harbor Marinas.
Surveillance video played a central role in the case. It shows Jimenez leaving the boat, an altercation lasting less than a minute in which Jimenez ends up motionless on the dock after striking his head, and Padlowski then grabbing the victim by the ankles and dragging him into the water. Padlowski is also seen throwing Jimenez’s flip-flops into the water afterward. Jimenez never resurfaced.
The medical examiner determined Jimenez suffered blunt-force trauma that left him unconscious and drowned as a result. Padlowski’s blood-alcohol level and the victim’s extremely high level of intoxication (0.26) were noted during the trial.
Padlowski took the stand and claimed self-defense. He testified that Jimenez made threatening remarks about killing him and raping or harming his fiancée, punched him, and that he believed Jimenez remained a threat even after the fall. He said he dragged the man into the water simply to create distance and thought Jimenez was still alive and able to swim.
Prosecutors rejected that account. Assistant State Attorney Lindsey Hodges told jurors the video showed Jimenez trying to get away, not posing an imminent threat, and that Padlowski’s actions after the victim was already down demonstrated intent. Jurors deliberated less than three hours before convicting him of first-degree murder.
Padlowski faces a mandatory life sentence. Sentencing is scheduled for August 17.
The case began when deputies responded to a report of a possible shooting and found Padlowski sitting on the dock near kitchen knives he had stuck into the wood. He made comments to witnesses suggesting he thought he may have just killed someone. No gunshots occurred.
The conviction closes a two-year legal process that centered on what the grainy dockside video revealed about a night of drinking that ended in a man’s death.
