The man who was shot dead as he chewed off the face of a homeless man on the MacArthur Causeway had apparently met his victim a few years back, according to published reports.
Rudy Eugene, 31, was fatally shot over Memorial Day Weekend while mauling on the face of Ronald Poppo.
The Miami Herald reported that Eugene had met Poppo while doing community work feeding the homeless.
Fredric Christian, Eugene’s close friend, told the Herald the two had met 65-year-old Poppo on the streets.
“Poppo seemed like a nice and kind man,” Christian told the newspaper. “I remember when we gave him food.”
Poppo continues to recover at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center since the attack left 50 percent of his face affected.
Though the attack sparked a state-wide crackdown on synthetic drugs and bath salts, which many speculated Eugene was on, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner only found marijuana in Eugene’s body.
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"The department's toxicology laboratory has identified the active components of marijuana," the statement said. "The laboratory has tested for but not detected any other street drugs, alcohol or prescription drugs, or any adulterants found in street drugs. This includes cocaine, LSD, amphetamines (Extasy, Meth and others), phencyclidine (PCP or Angel Dust), heroin, oxycodone, Xanax, synthetic marijuana (Spice), and many other similar compounds."
