Weekend of violence leaves 7 dead, raises total to 50 homicides this year in Jacksonville

They have come in rapid-fire, multiple acts of violence sometimes even hours apart: shootings and stabbings that left 50 people dead in the first four months of 2022 in Jacksonville as of Sunday.

This year's homicide milestone comes two days earlier than it did last year when Jacksonville hit the 50th of 128 deaths on May 3 and includes seven over the weekend, according to Times-Union records.

The timing isn't a record, just a bit earlier or later than in years past.

Times-Union records show in 2020 the city surged to an alarming 178 homicides, with the 50th reported on April 8. In 2019 it came on April 27, with the year ending with 161 homicides. In 2018 the 50th of 130 total homicides didn't happen until June 5. And 2017 ended with 140 deaths, that year's 50th homicide recorded on May 13.

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Sheriff's Office staff could not be reached for comment. But in an April 21 Fox News story, State Attorney's Office spokesman David Chapman pointed out that given the downturn in violent crime seen in 2021, the city's numbers to date "aren’t far off the mark and thankfully have not spiked like other cities."

State Attorney Melissa Nelson told Fox News that Jacksonville’s murders were down 30 percent, with overall shootings down 17 percent from the year prior.

"After experiencing a substantial downturn in violent gun crime in 2021, we continue to work together to combat violent crime in hopes that this trend continues," Nelson said. "Currently, we remain on par with last year’s numbers."

Geneva Pittman is treasurer for ICARE (Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment), whose members from 38 Jacksonville churches and other congregations have pushed city officials to find county-wide solutions to problems such as crime, low graduation rates and homelessness.

One person's death "is too many," Pittman said, and one reason for such a high number of homicides so far this year is because people don't trust police.

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"So when something happens, no one talks," Pittman said. "... What is going on? Some of it could be drug-related or domestic. And I feel like maybe we have too many guns, not registered or people just got access to them, and access them illegally."

Donald Foy, chapter president for MAD DADs (Men Against Destruction Defending Against Drugs and Social-Disorder), sadly agreed that seven homicides Friday through Sunday was "terribly violent," on top of reaching the 50th milestone in four months.

"The ones who are doing the shootings and that kind of crime are a small amount, it's not a big amount doing it," Foy said. "We are not removing them to stop them from doing it, and we really can't expect JSO to do it all. ... How are they going to know who to arrest? It is up to the community to break the code of silence and tell what they know."

Weekend of bloodshed leads to No. 50

For much of of 2022 the city stayed behind last year's pace. But last weekend alone quickly changed that trend. Here's what the Sheriff's Office released:

•  About 2:30 a.m. Sunday officers were called to the RaceWay gas station at 7304 Lem Turner Road where a 29-year-old woman was gunned down. WJXT TV-4 reported the woman was found dead against a gas pump next to a car with at least six bullet holes and about 30 surrounding evidence markers.

•  About 11:30 p.m. Saturday a 48-year-old man was found dead in a vehicle from gunfire in the 5400 block of Kennerly Road.

•  About 10:15 p.m. Saturday a 38-year-old man was found stabbed to death in the 2600 block of Water Bluff Drive.

•  About 10 a.m. Friday officers did a property check at an apartment at 1591 S. Lane Ave. after employees reported multiple bullet holes in a unit's door. They found the 23-year-old Deon O. Manick dead inside, identified by his family, according to news partner First Coast News. 

• About 7:30 a.m. Friday officers conducted another welfare check at the River City Landing complex at 2681 University Blvd. N. and found three adults dead inside. The investigation led detectives to issue an Amber Alert for an 8-year-old child who was believed to be with his father, Terrell Maurice Lewis. Both were found later that afternoon, followed by the 37-year-old's arrest on three counts of murder.

Family members identified the victims as 34-year-old Johnisha Williams, her 28-year-old sister Jamonica Williams and 30-year-old brother Jordan Williams, according to MAD DADs. Lewis was Johnisha's boyfriend, the family said.

For the public to know

The Sheriff's Office lists its deadly cases on its website as Open Data & Transparency. They are categorized as murders, non-murder homicides and homicides pending classification.

Not all homicides are classified as murders. A homicide is one person killing another person and includes justifiable, excusable and accidental killings.

Five are currently deemed pending classification, including two police shootings: the April 21 death of 43-year-old Kevin Lee Mahan at 7200 Morse Ave. and the March 1 death of 26-year-old Darian Quinlan Bryant at 1100 S. Lane Ave.

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Two others are listed as "non-murder, including the March death of jail inmate Coty Joseph Riley, 31, listing it as "exceptionally cleared (justifiable)." Riley had been jailed on Jan. 29 on four armed-robbery charges. His obituary lists his death as March 19. But a March 5 police incident report said he was found in medical distress in his cell and taken to the jail clinic, then a hospital for further evaluation.

The medical examiner's office will not release the autopsy report yet, stating "this case is currently under an active investigation by a law enforcement agency." 

Monday the violence didn't stop as the city's 51st homicide victim was shot during an argument in the 7900 block of Moncrief-Dinsmore Road, police said. A family member drove her to a nearby fire station, but she did not survive. 

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549