JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Homicide detectives have made an arrest in connection with a deadly double shooting on Jacksonville's Northside that was fueled by a dispute over drugs, the Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday.
Justin Clark Williamson, 30, was taken into custody late Tuesday night at a gas station along Pecan Park Road near Interstate 95, Assistant Chief Scott Dingee told reporters at a news conference.
Williamson is charged with murder and attempted murder in the Feb. 8 shooting in the Highlands area that killed a 37-year-old woman and sent a 33-year-old man to the hospital, Dingee said.
The chief said Jennifer Embree was found shot to death inside a home on Pine Estates Road off Leonid Road about 11:20 p.m. that night. Officers found Collins shot multiple times, but he survived.
Investigators learned that the trio was at the home when the men got into it over drugs and Williamson left, Dingee said. He said things escalated when Williamson returned and shot Embree and Collins.
Detectives pieced together the shooter's identity based on information provided by Collins and additional witnesses.
After the news conference, people who live in the Highlands neighborhood told News4Jax that Embree and Collins hadn't lived in the Pines Estates Road home long before the shooting, and that Embree was the mother of young children.
Paula Barlow, who was playing in her front yard with her six grandchildren, said she was relieved to learn about the arrest of her neighbor's accused killer.
"We're so glad," Barlow said. "This has always been a good neighborhood and I have six kids here and I'm scared to let them out after dark."
But despite the arrest, Barlow and other neighbors said they're not surprised the double shooting was over drugs.
"It's prevalent in the neighborhood now and this neighborhood has changed," Barlow said.
Jail records show Williamson currently is being held at the Duval County jail without bond. He is scheduled to make a first appearance in court on Thursday morning.