JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two men have been arrested and charged with murder in the 2019 shooting death of a Jacksonville woman, who police said was pregnant.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, investigators were sent to investigate a shooting on Justina Road on Oct. 7, 2019. They located a woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She later died.
Investigators said while being treated at the hospital, they learned she was pregnant. Police said the baby was delivered but died a few months later.
Following an extensive investigation, the Sheriff’s Office said, two men were identified as suspects and arrested. They were identified as Gerod Deshea Fields, 28, and George Prince Jr., 29. Both were arrested in December.
Family identified the woman killed in the shooting as Iyana McGraw. Doctors were initially able to save the child, but a family member told News4JAX in 2019 that the child never recovered after she was taken to an Atlanta hospital for further evaluation.
An arrest report suggests that Iyana McGraw was not the target.
A witness told police the shooting was part of a drug feud and revenge for a separate shooting that happened the day McGraw was killed. A witness told detectives Prince targeted the apartment McGraw was at because he thought the teen’s boyfriend -- Miles Hall -- shot at his apartment earlier that day.
Police later confirmed there was a shooting at Prince’s apartment, but it was never reported.
Hall was charged with drug possession and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in connection after McGraw’s shooting death. JSO said investigators found vacuum-packed marijuana and mailing boxes in their apartment. Hall pleaded guilty last month and was sentenced to three years in prison.
A man arrested in connection with a separate investigation told investigators that he told Prince he was not sure who shot up Prince’s apartment.
That man says Prince replied by saying: “I don’t care. I kill women and children, too.”
Another witness told police Fields confessed to being part of the killing and that Prince was supposed to pay him $1,000, but never did.
A neighbor also came forward and said she was in bed when she heard gunshots. She saw Prince outside.
Prince and Fields are scheduled to face a judge later this month. Both have arraignment hearings on the calendar.