JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A warrant details what led up to a man being arrested in the shooting death of an active-duty U.S. Coast Guard member.
The arrest warrant for Tyree Parker -- which was obtained by News4Jax on Wednesday -- shows that forensic evidence helped lead police to a key witness in the case.
About 5:30 a.m. Aug. 3, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, 27-year-old Caroline Schollaert was on the phone with 911, holding Parker at gunpoint after finding him in her vehicle. The warrant shows she told 911 that Parker was wearing a white shirt and blue hat. The warrant states gunshots were heard as Schollaert mentioned Parker was starting to run away.
“Video and audio evidence obtained from the scene shows the suspect wearing what appears to be a white shirt, blue beanie and cargo type shorts shoot the victim in the driveaway at this same time,” the warrant said. “Prior to this deadly encounter, the same suspect, who was wearing the same distinct clothing, was seen walking up the driveway to the victim’s vehicle.”
After Schollaert was fatally shot, according to the warrant, surveillance video captured a shirtless man running on the sidewalk wearing cargo-type shorts and carrying something in his arms. Then, about 7:30 a.m., the same man is seen jumping from bushes near a business and getting into the passenger side of a silver Ford Edge, the warrant states.
The warrant said JSO recovered a white shirt and blue head covering. According to the warrant, DNA from the shirt matched a woman who is friends with Parker.
She was questioned Aug. 8 and denied any involvement but told police that he had “describing running from the police on the date of the incident and hiding from the police,” the warrant said.
The woman said she was told a family member picked him up on the day of the shooting and showed police text messages from an hour after the murder, the warrant states.
The warrant said Parker sent other messages to the woman asking why police were at her home and what she told them. According to the warrant, he asked her if she wanted to leave town with him, and she said yes. Based on those communications, JSO got the warrant for Parker’s arrest.
Days before Parker’s arrest, his neighbor, Keyon Wilcox, said he noticed something different.
“I saw that he had cut his hair and I shook his hand. I said, ‘What’s up, bro? Are you alright?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, I’m alright,’” recounted Wilcox.
Wilcox said he did not know police were looking for his neighbor.
“I’ve told him many times before, ‘Bro, you’ve got to be smart, stay out of trouble,’” Wilcox said.
Parker, 22, turned himself early Tuesday, police said. He is charged with second-degree murder and is being held in the Duval County jail without bond.
When News4Jax went to his home for comment on Wednesday, the person who answered the door told us to get away from the house and closed the door.
JSO: Gun used in shooting stolen from unlocked car
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said the gun used in the shooting was stolen from an unlocked vehicle 11 days before the murder.
According to JSO, 368 firearms have been stolen during car burglaries this year, with 70% of those incidents involving unlocked cars.
According to a JSO calls for service list, 69 car burglaries have been reported in the Riverside area from July 1 to Aug. 8.
Evan Baker told News4Jax that his car was recently broken into.
“Now I’m having to look into getting security cameras in an area that’s typically safe,” Baker said.