JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An arrest has been made in connection with a shooting a month and a half ago on the city’s Southside that left two people dead, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday.
According to JSO, the double shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. June 20 in the Southpoint area on Bowden Road at Spring Park Road near the Interstate 95 off-ramp.
Police said two people — identified as Jamarion Barnes, 21, and 20-year-old Tyniya Powell — were found shot to death inside a car next to an ATM in a parking lot.
News4JAX obtained surveillance video that captured the car pulling up in the parking lot. According to investigators, Raishion Gist was seen getting out of the car and walking away. He then walked back to the car, grabbed a red bag and ran away, according to an arrest warrant.
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The Sheriff’s Office said Gist, 20, was arrested Wednesday on a warrant and booked into the Duval County jail. Police said the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force assisted in locating him.
On Thursday morning, Gist appeared in court, where a judge announced a charge of second-degree murder. Jail records and the arrest warrant also show that he is charged with one count of second-degree murder, but JSO said in a news release that he is charged with two counts.
JSO and MAD DADS both said they received several tips since the deadly double shooting, and investigators said those tips helped put Gist behind bars.
According to the warrant, police found messages between Gist and at least one of the victims about buying and selling drugs before the shooting. Investigators said Gist stole one of the victim’s guns during the incident and then passed it off to a witness the next day.
AJ Jordan, an outreach coordinator with MAD DADS, told News4JAX that Gist was even at a vigil for Barnes and Powell at the shooting site two days after the two were killed.
Barnes’ parents, who wish to remain unnamed, said that they didn’t know Gist and that they didn’t know he was at the vigil, standing with Barnes’ family and friends.
“That’s very scary,” Barnes’ mother said. “What if he could have followed any one of us home?”
Barnes’ mother said “it has been awful” since the death of her son, who leaves behind an 11-month-old daughter.
“Sleepless nights,” she said. “I have nightmares.”
“His laugh, his love — I miss everything about my son,” Barnes’ father said. “He was just a good guy.”
Family members said that they are relieved an arrest has been finally made and that they’re hoping for justice.
Gist’s next court date is Aug. 25. Barnes’ family members said they will be there.