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Roommate of Jorge Diaz-Johnston being held at Leon County Jail

Black Tallahassee police patrol car parked
Patrick Sternad
/
WFSU Public Media

The Tallahassee Democrat is reporting that Steven Yinger, the roommate of Jorge Diaz-Johnston was arrested on January 12th, the day after after Diaz-Johnston was found dead in a Jackson County landfill. It comes one day after the Tallahassee Police Department sent the case to a grand jury.

WFSU has confirmed that Steven Yinger is currently in custody at the Leon County Jail on counts of theft, trespassing, resisting arrest, and possession of drug paraphernalia. TPD has not publicly identified any suspects in the case. A grand jury is usually formed to determine what charges, if any, to bring to a person who might be involved in a major crime, such as a homicide.

State Attorney Jack Campbell could not comment on the status of the case.

Diaz-Johnston is the brother of former Miami Mayor and current Florida Democratic Party Chairman Manny Diaz.

Diaz-Johnston and his husband Don were one of the six couples listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit that overturned Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage. The couple was separated at the time of Diaz-Johnston’s death.

Follow @bgrutherford99

Brett Rutherford is a reporter and news researcher at WFSU Pubic Media. From Riverview, Florida, he has earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Florida State University. During his time at Florida State, he was a reporter within the sports department at WVFS, the student-run on-campus radio station. In 2020, he served as Sports Director during his senior year and hosted the weekly talk show Tomahawk Talk.

Email Brett: brutherford2@fsu.edu