JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The man who was shot by police after a confrontation Saturday morning on Lem Turner is a convicted felon who was out on bond awaiting trial in a 2020 case, according to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office records.
Teronnie Wade, 27, was awaiting trial on charges from a traffic stop in 2020 in which he was also a passenger. According to an arrest report, Wade was found in possession of a handgun, 22 bags of cocaine and the synthetic drug Flakka, a street drug similar to bath salts.
Wade originally received a bond of nearly $130,000 that was later lowered to $50,000. When he didn’t show for a court date in October, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
“For him to have such a low bond stifles me,” said News4JAX crime and safety analyst Ken Jefferson.
Then, about 1 a.m. Saturday, according to JSO Chief of Investigations T.K. Waters, officers stopped a car with five people inside for a red light violation, and the car pulled into the parking lot of Big Chief Tire Shop on Lem Turner Road.
During the stop, police said, they smelled marijuana inside the car and noticed the man in the front passenger seat wearing “body armor,” which made the officers suspicious.
The man refused to get out of the car when asked by officers, who then pulled him from the car, according to Waters. Then officers noticed he had a gun and a magazine that was “sticking out pretty far,” Waters said.
According to officers, when they attempted to handcuff the man, he swung at officers and ran away. While fleeing, he fired shots at police, who returned fire, Waters said.
The shootout continued as the man ran, stretching into the middle of Lem Turner Road — until the man was wounded, Waters said. More than 30 evidence markers were visible in the middle of Lem Turner Road.
“A traffic stop for any police officer is the danger of the unknown,” Jefferson said.
Waters said the man, identified by JSO as Wade, was taken into custody and transported to a hospital with serious injuries. As of Tuesday, he was still in a hospital.
Wade now faces two counts of attempted murder, resisting police and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
No officers were injured during the incident, which the State Attorney’s Office and JSO are investigating.
Previously, court records show, Wade was sentenced to a year in jail in 2014 after pleading guilty to grand theft auto. In 2017, according to court records, he was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to having a gun as a convicted felon.