Man killed at night in Calloway Cove; Killed 4th there this week

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police said a man in his early to mid-twenties was shot dead at the Calloway Cove Apartments around 11 p.m. Friday night – that’s the same complex on Moncrief Road where the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office found three people shot dead four days ago.

No witnesses came forward in the fatal shooting on Friday night and police have not released many details.

News4Jax tried to talk to residents in the area about crime on the complex, and one said he doesn’t think police are the right answer, but he’s nervous about the number of shootings in the apartments.

Another said more lighting is needed on the complex to see who is coming and going.

After two men and a woman were shot in a unit at the complex on Tuesday morning, police arrested four teenagers who were chasing officers after they drove away from the crime scene.

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Police said the gang unit heard gunshots on Tuesday and saw the car take off. The driver of the stolen vehicle – a 14-year-old girl – led authorities on a nearly three-mile chase that ended when an officer hit their car in a PIT maneuver. There were three guns in the car, the police said.

Keon Lester, 18, along with two 17-year-olds and a 14-year-old are all charged with murder and criminal conspiracy to commit a robbery. The prosecution is expected to prosecute all suspects as adults.

Police referred to the apartment where two 30-year-olds and a 27-year-old were found dead as a ‘drug room’ where they found more than 100 oxycodone pills, a large ball of white powdery substance and a large amount of money.

The area has been struggling with violent crime for years. Six years ago, the city council said that 4229 Moncrief Road is one of the top locations in the city where you would likely be the victim of a violent crime.

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“It’s sad because right now it’s just a non-profit situation,” said a man who told News4Jax that he is not surprised at the violence. “Why don’t you put a police station there?”

The man said the age of the people involved in these crimes has a lot to do with their influence.

“I think that comes from the one household, because now everyone is a follower,” said the man.

News4Jax crime and security expert Ken Jefferson, who grew up in the Calloway Cove Apartments, said crimes like this have been there and will stay there unless city leaders make their voices heard.

“There is crime all over Duval County, but in this particular area it seems to be resonating over the years,” Jefferson said. “For more than 30 years it has been ravaged by violence. So until the city leaders get to the Sheriff’s Office, get into the community, and everyone gets involved, it goes on. “

Jefferson said the ages don’t surprise him, saying that crime does not discriminate, but that more could be done to solve the problem in the apartments.

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‘Four people dead – what is there to think of? You found drugs, you found a lot of money, you found guns in a car that ran off the scene. What can you think of? It’s nothing but going to work, ”Jefferson said.

News4Jax contacted the city councilor representing the Calloway Cove district, as well as the owner of the complex. We haven’t heard from them yet.

All five Jacksonville murders this week are in the zip code 32209: the four at Calloway Cove and one at Iris Boulevard, just three blocks away.