JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police are trying to find the shooter who killed a Jacksonville teenager during a fight at an Ortega Farms house party April 23 on Liska Drive.
Jonah Golden, 19, was shot and killed and an 18-year-old man was injured.
Saturday, family and friends gathered to lay Golden to rest. At the funeral, News4Jax spoke with a couple of his friends including Justin Montgomery.
“He helped me on tests you know. Whatever I needed he was there for me,” Montgomery said.
Montgomery also told us more about Golden, as a person.
“Jonah was by far the best friend I ever had, smart brilliant young man, the best person ever,” he continued.
Another of Golden’s friends, Felicia Skipper, talked about how he should be remembered.
“He was just a kind hearted person. Everybody loved him and I want y’all to remember him not for what happened but for how he lived his life. It's not how much you lived but he lived his life to the fullest that's how I want ‘yall to remember him.”
The men who threw the party gave News4Jax an inside look at the crime scene Monday.
The men, who asked not to be identified, said they are upset about the deadly shooting. They said they just wanted to have a get-together with friends, but the party got bigger and out of hand. They couldn't control it, and it quickly turned violent, they said.
They said police were called to the neighborhood hours before the deadly shooting because someone complained about cars being parked along the street, but officers did not break up the party because it didn't get out of hand until later.
Jacksonville Sheriff's Office records show officers were called to Liska Drive three times the night of the shooting for disturbances. The tenants said the officers didn't see any problems and just asked people to move their cars.
Hours later shots were fired near the front door and bullets ricocheted through the house, the tenants said.
The tenants showed News4Jax the damage on Monday, including bullet holes in the door. Some slugs pierced through the door and hit the walls and a bedroom inside the home.
The tenants said that they were throwing a party and invited 25 to 30 people. But others kept showing up. They tried to shut the party down when the wrong crowd gathered, but they couldn't. Fights broke out, and about 2:30 a.m., they heard gunshots.
Golden died in the front yard. A cryptic Facebook post from Golden hours before the party seemed to foreshadow his death.
"If today (is) my last day Jus Make Sure I Come Home to You Lord," he wrote.
Police said that when they arrived after the shooting, they found several guns. Now they're looking for the killer.
A mother who lives nearby said she's worried about the violence affecting her four children.
“It is just crazy out here. I am just ready to go,” neighbor Sherhonda Cooper said. “I keep them in the house at night and mostly during the day, because you never know when a shooting is going to occur, and you don't know where the bullets are going to go.”
Another neighbor, who was too scared to show his face, said he's lived in the area for 15 years and many young people aren't afraid to kill each other.
“It doesn't seem to be getting any better,” he said. “It saddens me to hear it, but I don't know if more police presence would help. I really don't, because I've seen police around here. I just don't know if it's enough to stop it all.”
The tenants who threw the party said Golden wasn't invited and they didn't know him or the shooter. They said they're sorry the shooting happened, and they hope police catch the killer.
Golden's former teacher hopes that happens soon.
"We need justice for Jonah, and if anyone knows anything about what happened, please don't be scared to speak up,” Christina Hovestadt said.
AJ Jordan with the Jacksonville chapter of MAD DADS said officers often have a tough time getting information out of eyewitnesses, and he's frustrated.
“A 19-year-old is dead. They have to learn to resolve these issues without killing each other,” Jordan said. “Even though the sheriff got 40 officers back and even though the mayor approved overtime for the Sheriff's Office, if nobody is talking, what good is that? We need people to talk up. You've got to turn in these murderers.”
He said the culture of silence needs to change.
“If we want to save the city, we've got to speak up,” Jordan said.
He's urging people to come forward about this weekend's shooting and other crimes.
News4Jax records from the past two years show Golden's death is one of five unsolved house party homicides in Jacksonville, all involving young people.
- In January, 19-year-old Mikel Stewart was shot at a house party in Arlington.
- Last April 2015, 17-year-old Johnnel Johnson was shot at an after-prom party on the Southside.
- In April 2014, 19-year-old Willie Johnson was killed at a get-together in the Sandalwood area.
- And in March 2014, 34-year-old Dustin Minarik was shot when he got into an argument with teens at a house party as he was moving his car.
The tenants of the Liska Drive home said they are cooperating with detectives, and they won't be having any more parties at their home because of what happened.
Detectives are working on getting video of the incident to help them in their investigation.
Anyone with information is urged to call the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at 904-630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.