JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The remaining three of four suspects wanted in the murder of Keith Thompson were captured Wednesday in South Carolina, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
Lewis Braclet, 24, Keith Jackson, 25, and Brandon Roundtree, 24, were apprehended outside Gaston, South Carolina, in a joint effort by the FBI, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Gaston Police Department and the Lexington County Sheriff's Office.
Chyon Horne, the fourth man wanted in Thompson's murder, was arrested last week in Jacksonville.
Police have also arrested three women in the case, charging them with providing false information to law enforcement during the investigation of a capital offense, which is a felony.
JSO Assistant Chief Scott Dingee said the three men were tracked to South Carolina and were spotted leaving a trailer park where they were staying with one of the men's relatives. Detectives followed the three men and the relative in their vehicle, but the suspects ditched the vehicle and ran into a wooded area, authorities said.
Multiple agencies responded and helped take all three men into custody about 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dingee said.
Investigative leads led police last week to Horne's home on North Laura Street. A SWAT team responded and Horne was talked out and arrested without incident, police said.
Thompson, 23, was found dead April 27 in the back yard of a home on East Westbrook Circle, just off Commonwealth Avenue, after gunshots were heard about 12:30 p.m.
Police quickly named Horne, Braclet, Jackson and Roundtree as suspects in the murder, which was caught on surveillance video, Dingee said.
He said police think Thompson was killed because Braclet and Jackson believed that he had stolen drugs and money from them. He said all four suspects knew Thompson and participated in his murder.
Dingee said it took investigators time to find the last three suspects, because they were first tracked to Lakeland, Florida, but fled before investigators arrived. They were then tracked to Hardeeville, South Carolina, but fled again before investigators caught up with them in Gaston, which is just outside Columbia, South Carolina.
Police also arrested three women in the case. Teia Richardson, Aleisha Henley and Shani Holmes are accused of either helping the suspects avoid law enforcement or impeding the investigation.
Holmes, 24, was Thompson's girlfriend, Henley, 23, is dating Braclet, and Richardson, 28, is friends with one of the suspects, Dingee said.
"We anticipate additional arrests on either relatives or friends of the suspects for helping them escape, or attempt to escape, law enforcement," Dingee said.
News4Jax has learned that Jackson was involved in a Feb. 14 crash that killed UNF student Laura Erdelyi, 20. Jackson paid a traffic fine for failing to yield while making a left turn.
Jackson also has a history of drug arrests, a conviction for burglary and carrying a concealed firearm. Braclet has a previous drug arrest and numerous traffic offenses, dating back to 2009. Roundtree has an arrest history for drug sales, burglary and escape.
Horne is the only suspect without a previous criminal history.
Arrests could lead to more solved crimes
The arrest of the four men and the three women might have an impact on an area of Jacksonville that has seen the most murders this year.
Dingee said that after capturing the final three suspects in South Carolina, police interviewed them and were able to get key information that could help solve as many as seven other murders in the Westside area of Jacksonville from the last 12 to 18 months.
“Our detectives have been interviewing all three suspects up there. They have gained some very valuable investigative information, not only on this homicide, but multiple other homicides," Dingee said. "I won’t be releasing any information about what homicides those are, but we do believe that information is going to be very helpful to us in clearing multiple homicides.”
RELATED: 10 homicides in 4 months in one Jacksonville ZIP code
The area is considered one of the most dangerous parts of Jacksonville, because 10 people have been murdered in the 32209 ZIP code since the start of the year.
People who live near Westbrook Park, which is in ZIP code 32209, said they aren't surprised by the high number of murders in the area. They said they were glad to hear about the arrests in Thompson's murder and that police believe that they could help solve other homicides.
Some homeowners said they worry about their children in the neighborhood even during the day when they are coming home from school. They believe that there could be problems.
One woman, who has lived in the area for over 30 years and didn't want to be identified, said the arrests were welcome news.
“It really does (give you a sense of relief), because when you have grandkids going to the parks and everything like that, it really does, because so many things during the day and at night -- it happens in the daylight,” she said.
Police didn't want to say much about the other murders in the area that might be solved with the new information.
“I don't want to get into which homicide and what the circumstances are,” Dingee said. “They are murders in that part of town, in the northwest part. As far as the circumstances, we are still investigating.”
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said getting information about other cases is unusual in a homicide case.
“It really depends on what they are saying that they know or how they are implicating somebody else and if the evidence backs up what they're saying,” Smith said.
He said the arrests in Thompson's murder could have a big impact on the area.
“The good thing about this is that it is a high-crime area, and this does clear this homicide and have the majority of people involved in custody,” Smith said. “We could see a reduction in crime if all those involved are in custody.”
Police didn't say if the other homicides they now have information on are directly related to one another or if the suspects in Thompson's case are just pointing fingers at other people to try to get out of trouble.