JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville security guard accused of murder shot a 23-year-old man after the man attacked the manager of an illegal gambling facility in Brentwood and tried to grab cash, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office report released on Tuesday.
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JSO said Martiaz McGruder attacked the manager of the gambling operation inside an address on North Main Street on Dec. 23 and during the fight, both men fell on a gambling table. McGruder then grabbed a roll of $5,000 in cash and started to walk toward the door, JSO said. In fear for his life, JSO said the manager called for Earl Coleman, 61, an armed security guard at the illegal business, who approached McGruder.
What happened next is redacted in the report, but Coleman and McGruder soon came face-to-face at the front of the business.
Witnesses told JSO McGruder briefly put his hands in the air before he ran off and Coleman followed.
McGruder then jumped in a car and Coleman fired three times. McGruder was hit by gunfire and was later dropped off at UF Health where he died.
JSO interviewed several witnesses, who said at no time did McGruder make an aggressive move toward Coleman and McGruder did not have a weapon.
Coleman was identified as the suspect and arrested on Friday with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Task Force.
Coleman now faces second-degree murder charges, along with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and remains in the Duval County jail without bond.
