JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man charged in the May death of 28-year-old Victoria Braddock, who was shot in the head with a shotgun and pushed out of an SUV in the Southside Estates neighborhood, pleaded not guilty Wednesday.
Charles Rowlands is being held without bond.
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A pretrial hearing on the murder charge was set for Aug. 31.
Braddock died on May 15 at UF Health Jacksonville shortly after she was found on Cortez Road at Brookview Drive South. Police originally thought it was a hit-and-run crash, possibly of a pedestrian. But once they knew she was shot, homicide detectives were called to investigate.
Rowlands, 29, an ex-Uber driver, was arrested a week after Braddock's death and charged with tampering with evidence. Police said witnesses saw him cleaning his black Trailblazer after the shooting. He sold the vehicle a week later.
On Tuesday, police announced that additional witness information and surveillance video allowed them to charge Rowlands with murder.
Police said the two had been seen together before and had a drug relationship.