JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 23-year-old man found shot to death inside a Northside home Monday was killed by his girlfriend's brother, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.
Andrew Morgan, 24, is charged with murder in the death of John White, Lt. Steve Gallaher said.
Police said White used to live in the home on Elsa Drive, in the Conifer Ridge subdivision off Biscayne Boulevard, just south of Interstate 295.
He was asked to move out last August by his girlfriend's father. Morgan, her brother, also lives in the home.
White returned there Monday to retrieve some personal belongings, and his girlfriend asked him to stay for a while, police said.
Her name has not been released, but police said she is 23 years old and they believe a child who was in the home Monday belongs to the couple. News4Jax saw a child being carried away from the scene Monday and put into the arms of two women.
Gallaher said that when Morgan awoke around 10 a.m. and found White inside the home, he became agitated, retrieved a 9mm handgun and began threatening White. The two argued across the kitchen counter, and White challenged Morgan, saying he wouldn't shoot. Morgan eventually fired several times at White, killing him.
A 911 call came in reporting that someone had been shot at the home, and Morgan stayed at the home and cooperated with police, Gallaher said.
Investigators recovered the gun used in the shooting, police said.
News4Jax found that Morgan has one prior arrest in 2011, for burglary to a dwelling, and was sentenced to probation.
Lenteisa Hill used to be the Homeowners Association president and said the home has been problematic.
“The average family here is maybe four people max, but you have seven people crammed in that one house, and I believe it's just a three-bedroom house,” Hill said. “Six cars parked there regularly, all the time plus company, a lot of activity going on over there.”
She said despite the past issues, her heart goes out to those affected.
“You have to be sensible about life,” she said. “Life is precious and you only have one time to be here. Make it the best.”
Members of Morgan's and White's families were nearly speechless Tuesday after the arrest was announced and declined to comment.
Neighbors told News4Jax that it is shocking to have so many police cars in their subdivision because it's typically a quiet, peaceful area.
"Not all of the time you come outside and you see rescue and a bunch of police cars in the neighborhood, then you hear somebody might have gotten hurt," neighbor Richard Tuckett said. "I've never seen or heard anything like this."
According to JSO's crime-mapping tool, within the last month there have been five crimes within a half-mile of where the shooting happened:
- Two assaults
- One burglary
- One vehicle break-in
- One vehicle theft
Tuckett said that as a father, he feels for the family that lost a loved one Monday.
"It's always sad when somebody loses their life," Tuckett said. "That's not the way you want to go, getting shot. It's always sad."