ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – The shooting death of an 18-year-old man in Atlantic Beach has been ruled a justifiable homicide, according to records on the Jacksonville’s Sheriff’s Office’s Open Data and Transparency site.
Investigators in August determined the teenager was shot and killed during a confrontation in August. Loved ones identified the man as Trevaj Cheek.
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Per its agreement with the Atlantic Beach Police Department, JSO worked the case, and its transparency site indicates Cheek’s death was ruled justifiable because he was shot during the commission of an unspecified crime.
According to the police report, Cheek was found beside a car, and two young women were standing near the car. He was taken to the hospital and did not survive.
On Tuesday, News4JAX obtained a supplemental report that sheds additional light on the night of the shooting. According to the incident report, JSO determined Cheek’s girlfriend and another girl had been at a house party with three men, and they went somewhere to eat.
Cheek’s girlfriend, the report states, repeatedly asks one of the men about his jewelry, while Cheek was repeatedly calling his girlfriend. The report states that she didn’t answer, but several times, she and another girl go outside and then return.
According to the report, when the five of them go to an apartment complex on Orchid Street, Cheek drove up with the lights out, steps out, pulls a gun and points at the SUV. The report states that investigators determined that’s when one of the teens fire a shot, killing Cheek.
The person accused of pulling the trigger retained an attorney, but investigators said his mother provided JSO with the handgun. The report shows the other two young men told investigators they felt the girls were setting them up, due to the calls and leaving the restaurant.
While JSO has ruled the homicide as justifiable, it’s still under investigation by the State Attorney’s Office.