JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The ongoing beef between rival Jacksonville gangs who use rap to broadcast their hate is expected to be on full display this week as one of two people charged with a 2020 murder goes on trial.
Roland Ball is facing first-degree murder charges in what police consider a gang retaliation ambush shooting that killed 17-year-old Inandi Wyche.
Ball was originally charged with second-degree murder, but the charges were upgraded just last week to first-degree murder. He’s also now charged with “tampering with or harassing a witness or victim.”
Prosecutors say Wyche, a Ribault High School student, was not the intended target. The two accused shooters were aiming for her date, Terise Powe, also known as rapper Kshordy, police said.
Investigators say the botched hit, which also left Powe injured, was part of an ongoing dispute between the rival gangs and that Ball and Xavion Porter believed Powe was responsible for another murder a few days before.
Ball and Porter, both described as “known gang members” by police, were charged in Wyche’s fatal shooting 10 months later.
Powe, who was convicted on gun charges in 2023, is awaiting trial himself for another suspected gang shooting. He is also listed as a possible defense witness in Ball’s trial.
Wyche had been planning to attend Florida A&M University but never got the chance.