A teenage boy is accused of fatally shooting a 19-year-old in broad daylight after a gun deal gone wrong outside a Dollar General store in Florida, and cops say the boy was arrested more than a year after the deadly scuffle. was arrested.
Kidris Jackson, 14, was arrested on Dec. 2, 2023, shortly after purchasing a firearm from a then-13-year-old gunman, when the victim, Griffin Smith, was found riddled with bullets inside a Dodge Ram pickup. He was charged with second-degree murder. , This was announced by the Marion County Sheriff's Office.
According to court documents obtained by local media, police say the victim met with Jackson at the Dollar General on Marion Oaks Boulevard to buy a gun, and the suspect agreed to pay $350. He later announced that he had tried to extort more money.
After the deal failed, police said the teenage suspect fired several shots at the victim as he tried to flee in his car, and later found 14 rifle cartridges near the scene of the death.
Police said they were called to the scene around 3:15 p.m. and found the victim's truck in a tree line with Smith injured inside.
A gun purchased from the teenage murder suspect was also seized from the Dodge Ram.
Police said Smith was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
The teenage fugitive fled the scene, but was arrested several days later after authorities spotted him driving a stolen car in Alachua County and a short police pursuit followed.
A gun was also recovered from the stolen car, leading to a year-long investigation that included interviewing witnesses, analyzing DNA and reviewing records to link the boy to the murder.
Jackson, who was already in custody for another incident, was arrested and charged in jail.
He is being held at the Marion County Regional Juvenile Detention Center.
