Last week marked a significant milestone when Sheriff T.K. Waters disclosed the arrest of two adolescents who are believed to be directly involved in the unfortunate death of a 7-year-old child, Breon Allen Jr. Astonishingly, no one enquired about the associated reward of $25,000. The arrests were facilitated not only by a precious tip-off to First Coast Crime Stoppers, but they also signaled a historic payout for the organization during its two-decade-long existence, shared Executive Director Chase Robinson.
Robinson revealed that the Crime Stoppers organization received in total 22 potentially valuable hints or leads, out of which one was instrumental in leading to these decisive arrests. These were centered around a gang-related occurrence, reported on January 24. The two suspects, Tavaris Kelly and Donte McGhee, both 17-years of age, are now awaiting their trials. They will be tried along with other co-defendants – Keith Bernard Fields Jr., 18, Dannel Lenoir Larkins, 20, Keith Bernard Johnson, 21, and Zharod Deangelo Sykes, 24.
Robinson expressed his heartfelt gratitude towards the critical role played by the community in making this possible. He emphasized the fact that such efforts help people understand their influence on crucial situations like these and how they can effectively contribute to right the wrongs. Crime Stoppers, Robinson believes, serves the purpose of channelizing this energy towards delivering justice to affected families.
Acknowledge also came for the prominent sentiment of fear that often prevents people from stepping forward and helping, a fear of potential repercussion. Crime Stoppers, in this respect, acts as a protective shield by ensuring complete anonymity to its informants, thereby, encouraging people to come forth without having to worry about any form of retaliation.
Robinson extends by defining the essential ethos of Crime Stoppers. It is about practicing what’s right and safeguarding your community. It is not about snitching; it’s about calling out the culprits and facilitating justice for families victimized by such heinous incidents.
The details around how the rewards work are also comprehensive. The individual who tipped off Crime Stoppers on this particular case is required now to establish contact to move forward with the reward process. As the process operates under complete anonymity, Crime Stoppers mandates that the tipster reach out to them because they have no way to make contact.
The pending next step, as explained by Robinson, is the tipster reaching back out to check the status of their tip. Upon doing so, the person can choose to either accept the monetary reward or forego it. It’s emphasized that it does not have any bearing whether these two suspects are eventually found guilty or acquitted.
Crime Stoppers aims to encourage valuable information for every crime reported, not merely for grave crimes like homicide. For complex, high-profile cases, such as Breon’s, rewards can exceed the usual reward amount of $3,000. These additional funds come from public donors, corporate entities, fellow organizations, and sometimes from within family members or other relevant parties.
Revisit the ill-fated incident: Around 5 p.m. on January 24, as Breon and his 21-year-old cousin were exiting a house located at Commonwealth Avenue near Beaver Street, a black Kia drove up abruptly. As reported by witnesses, shooters inside the vehicle began firing multiple shots, grievously injuring both Breon and his cousin. Unfortunately, Breon didn’t survive the shooting, and the cousin was left battling for life in critical condition.
Later in the night at about 11:30 p.m., officers, after significant search, located the abandoned Kia. Further investigations lead to finding consistent rifling imprints on casings found in the car with the casings recovered from the scene. This breakthrough lent credibility to the suspicion that the shooters had rendezvoused with a BMW.
Deducing from earlier information, Waters had pointed out that the intended target of this incident was somehow involved with a gang. The warrants later provided more clarification, indicating that the intended victim is a known rapper and affiliated member of the gang ATK, which has a notorious feud with a rival gang, 6 Block.
Moreover, the warrants established a connection between Fields, Larkins, Sykes, and Johnson with 6 Block. In an unfortunate turn of events, Foolio (real name Charles Jones II) fell victim to an unexpected ambush and was killed outside a hotel in Tampa during his 26th birthday celebrations in June 2024. Also, Rico Osama, another rapper whose real name is Julian House, was killed in 2023.
Sheriff Waters, during his recent press briefing last Friday, used robust and unequivocal language to describe the level of violence propagated by the two young suspects. ‘McGhee and Kelly, both 17 years old, are the actual gunmen responsible for executing this horrifying and cruel shooting’, he proclaimed. He opined that the shooting was the peak of escalating violence between two rival street groups and was a deliberate act of intended bloodshed.
He added that it was a targeted, premeditated act of violence, during which the murderers clearly noted the presence of innocent Breon alongside the intended target. Kelly and McGhee, being underaged, have not yet been charged as adults and hence do not appear in court records.
The post Community Tips Lead to Arrests in Breon Allen Jr.’s Case appeared first on Real News Now.
About Author
