JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested a man in connection to a fatal shooting in Jacksonville in 2023.
Lawrence Bell, who was arrested in Glynn County on unrelated charges, was charged with second-degree murder by JSO on Jan. 17 in connection with the death of 23-year-old Christopher Griffin.
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On July 27, 2023, JSO officers went to a home and found Griffin lying on the floor with a gunshot wound. There were shell casings around, but there was no gun in plain view.
Griffin died at the scene.
The woman who called the police said she didn’t know how the incident happened. She also gave them the name of her former boyfriend, Bell, and said she allowed him to stay at her home while he was visiting family in South Georgia from New York, where he lives most of the time.
The arrest report said Bell was at the house less than a week before Griffin was killed.
The woman told police that she had a unique house key that Bell had to unlock the back door, which she thought was lost.
Investigators said they found that key in the back door during their search.
Detectives found that Bell called and texted the woman multiple times on the day before Griffin was killed. She said she didn’t see Bell leading up to the hours Griffin was shot nor did she see Griffin being shot.
Officials showed pictures of Bell’s car found on the woman’s phone to neighbors, who said they saw the same car in front of the woman’s house before police arrived the on day of the shooting.