JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Thirteen years after a Jacksonville man was shot and killed in his driveway, there is a renewed call for any information that could help police find the shooter.
This was also the first case to be highlighted since First Coast Crime Stoppers announced higher cash rewards for tips that help solve homicides.
Julius Parrish’s family has waited more than a decade for justice. Now, with a new incentive, they’re hoping someone will finally come forward.
“Come on, let’s do something. Let’s change this. We can do it,” Deborah Parrish, Julius Parrish’s widow, said.
On June 30, 2012, Parrish had just returned home from car shopping with his wife.
Investigators said he took their dog for a walk and was talking with his godson in the driveway of their home on Bunche Drive. That’s when a car drove by and someone inside opened fire.
Witnesses said several rounds were fired before the vehicle sped off.
Julius was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died.
Last week, First Coast Crime Stoppers announced a major change — increasing the reward for tips that help solve homicides to $5,000.
“We believe that someone always knows something, and when that person steps forward safely and anonymously, lives can change, families can heal, justice can prevail,” Executive Director Chase Robinson said. “This initiative strengthens our long-standing partnership with law enforcement; each tip we receive has the potential to move a case forward, provide new leads and bring closure to victims’ families.”
Robinson explained to News4JAX how secure the tipline is.
“Regardless of how you submit information to Crimestoppers from an IP perspective, your information is blocked. And whether you call our call center with our toll-free hotline or our mobile phone, your information is what we call routed through a secure and encrypted system. So, there is no identifiable information and no tracing,” Robinson said.
Robinson was also joined on Monday’s news conference by representatives from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and Project Cold Case.
“It is our hope that after these 13 years, maybe somebody will be a little more willing to come forward than they were in the past. As this has clearly impacted more than just the Parrish family for the last 13 years,” Ryan Bachman with Project Cold Case said.
If you have any information about any unsolved homicide, you can submit a tip anonymously at fccrimestoppers.com/ or call 1-866-845-TIPS.
News4JAX will livestream Monday’s news conference at 10:30 a.m.