JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office on Thursday released the identity of a suspected fentanyl dealer who was killed Wednesday afternoon in a shootout with detectives in the Paxon neighborhood.
Matthew Dilworth, 50, was killed by detectives after he ran from a traffic stop and fired several shots at the officers, JSO said. A mugshot of Dilworth taken after a previous arrest in the Chicago area, along with a photograph of the gun found at the scene, was shared by JSO on Thursday.
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JSO said the situation started around 12:30 p.m. when JSO’s Narcotics Overdose Squad was investigating a suspected fentanyl dealer. Dilworth was believed to be connected to an overdose death that happened in Jacksonville about a week ago, according to JSO.
When JSO tried to pull him over, he jumped out of the car near a strip mall on North Edgewood Avenue and ran off, JSO said.
Detectives chased the man down nearby Cain Lane where they ordered him to stop, but JSO said instead of surrendering, the suspect pulled out a Glock handgun and fired at the two detectives who were clearly marked as police officers.
JSO said the suspect missed but was able to briefly get away and hide out in a wooded area.
About 10 minutes later, JSO said the suspect ran into two different detectives on Broadway Avenue and opened fire. The detectives returned fire, JSO said, and the suspect was struck and killed in the front yard of a home.
A house was hit by at least one of the bullets, but no detectives were hurt, JSO said, and all four will be placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure for any police shooting.
JSO said the State Attorney’s Office was at the scene Wednesday evening to conduct an independent investigation.
“That is a terrible plague in our community right now,” a JSO spokesman said, referencing fentanyl. “We’ve had over 380 overdose deaths just in Duval County this year. If you do the math, that’s more than one a day. This [Narcotics Overdose Squad] was created about three years ago, one sergeant and about six detectives to try to locate these dangerous drug dealers that are putting this kind of poison out into the community. And they’ve been pretty successful so far since their inception.”