JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – More than 10 years after two teenage girls were killed in a drive-by shooting in Northwest Jacksonville, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office is reopening the case hoping technology may bring new leads that could result in an arrest.
On Aug. 10, 2013, Megan Simmons, 14, was spending the night at the home of Jazmine Shelton, 13, on Missouri Avenue when someone started shooting at the house. Shelton died of a gunshot wound as she slept. Simmons was put on life support until she died four days later.
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JSO Homicide Detective Travis Oliver Sr. was one of the detectives at the scene — a scene that’s hard to forget.
“I remember seeing the multiple shell casings at the scene and all of the bullet strikes to the front of the trailer,” Oliver said. “When I saw that and knowing that there were children involved, it was just touching. Anytime we go to a case or to a scene and there are children involved, it takes your thought process to a whole other level.”
JSO suspended the case in 2017 until they could get new information after years of trying to find answers.
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Now, seven years after suspending the case, a team of detectives, including Oliver, is reviewing the case to see if new technology or other aspects of the investigation could be done differently in their quest for answers.
“A part of our team are two detectives that are crime scene investigators. One of our detectives now works strictly with genealogy DNA. The rest of us are researchers. We have two younger detectives that are just on the cellphones and modern technology, which includes social media. There is a good dynamic,” Oliver said.
Apart from looking into new technology, Oliver said they are also working on getting witnesses to come forward.
“We have reason to believe that one of the occupants of the trailer that was living there at the time was probably involved in that incident,” Oliver said.
According to Oliver, before arriving at the shooting scene, one of the officers had been working on a case where an unknown person from the area had been stabbed and was being treated at one of the local hospitals.
“We would think that the shooting of the trailer was a retaliation from the stabbing,” Oliver said.
Oliver said that person has never assisted detectives in the investigation.
“Our reaction to that has always been negative toward that person because we feel like that person holds the tools that we need to move forward. And that person, in my opinion, is very selfish. It is her actions that caused this and now you won’t cooperate with the police,” Oliver said.
Oliver said they have reason to believe there was more than one shooter in this incident because “of the locations of the shell casings and the different calibers of the shell casings.”
News4JAX spoke with Simmon’s grandmother, Karen Simmons, back in 2019. She said it was a struggle to get justice for these two young girls and not a day went by that she didn’t think about her granddaughter and the tragedy that claimed her life.
“I pray every day that some way we can find out who did it and put them where they need to be,” Simmons said in 2019. “I just want some peace, some closure.”
Oliver said they are working hard to get the families that closure.
“I have spoken with the grandparents of both girls. I have also spoken with Meghan’s brother. Today, they are still dealing with it like it just happened. Just like anyone else would be if you lost your child at 13 and 14 years old. It would be something that you would never get over,” Oliver said. “This case is very unique to us. It is very unique because we know without a doubt in our minds that the 13 and 14-year-old victims were totally innocent. They did nothing to result in their deaths.”
If you know anything about the drive-by killings, please call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS (8477).