By Lamaur Stancil
Treasure Coast Newspapers
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A felon accused of serving a lethal concoction of pills in a milkshake to his roommate was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder.
Timothy Gochenour, 41, was taken into custody on a probation violation in November after deputies entered the home he stayed at in the 400 block of 12th Street Southwest. The man who allowed Gochenour to stay there, 51-year-old Michael Gray, was found dead, authorities said. Gochenour told Indian River County deputies about the milkshake he served to Gray and said he wanted him dead, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Authorities said in November they wanted to wait on toxicology reports before charging Gochenour with Gray’s death. Those charges filed Tuesday were for second-degree murder and poisoning food or water. The warrant affidavit, which would include the reasons for charging Gochenour, was not released Wednesday.
Gochenour was being held Wednesday in lieu of $1,250,000 bail at the Indian River County Jail.
In 1991, Gochenour was convicted of grand theft auto in Escambia County and served two years in prison, according to the Department of Corrections.
In 1997, he was arrested and later convicted of unlawful sexual contact with a 16-year-old girl and sentenced to three years in prison and six years of probation. In the crime, Gochenour broke into an Indian River home, crawled into bed with the girl and fondled her, prosecutors said.
Gochenour’s longest prison stint, eight years, came after his arson conviction in 2004. The Sheriff’s Office said he set fire to a neighbor’s carport and stood by her and watched as Indian River County Fire Rescue firefighters put out the blaze he set. Gochenour also set fire to his cell mattress during his sentence for that crime, the Department of Corrections said.