COLUMBIA COUNTY, Fla. – A 25-year-old man is accused of killing a man whose body was found severely burned in Columbia County.
According to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, residents discovered the severely burned body at the Osceola National Forest on the afternoon of April 11. Deputies said foul play was involved because the body was severely burned and the man’s hands were bound behind his back.
Deputies identified the body as 32-year-old Shawn Waldron by a partial tattoo. He was also reported missing.
A medical examiner’s office in Jacksonville had to use dental records to confirm Waldron’s identity.
A day after his body was discovered, Waldron’s cell phone was located near the intersection of Northeast Buddy Avenue and Northeast Fryer Street. The following day, Waldron’s bicycle was located. Seven days after the discovery, the CCSO executed a search warrant for a home on Northeast Maxwell Glenn.
Undisclosed evidence seized from the home indicates a possible crime related to Waldon’s murder.
Deputies then issued an arrest warrant for Robert Lee Jackson, who was eventually arrested in Jacksonville by federal marshals, 10 days after the search.
Sheriff Mark Hunter says that based on his knowledge of Jackson and Waldon, this appears to be a murder case involving gangs and illegal narcotics activity.
Hunter said Jackson is a drug dealer who lives in Lake City but is known by law enforcement to travel all over Florida to sell drugs.
“You got these drug dealers and that’s what we refer to as the gangs. These are the drug dealers; they get their group. They sell their stuff and get into a turf war and the way they handle it is through violence,” Hunter said.
The sheriff’s office expects additional arrests in this murder case.