JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has made three arrests in connection to the shooting death of a 14-year-old on New Year’s Day in Northwest Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Lt. Adam Blinn, with the Homicide Unit, said officers were called to Castle Boulevard, near Soutel Drive and Sibbald Road, around 6:10 p.m. on Jan. 1 by neighbors who heard gunfire and then found 14-year-old Micah Thomas wounded on the threshold of a home.
Blinn said that when officers arrived, they found Thomas and performed CPR until Jacksonville Fire and Rescue paramedics arrived and took him to a local hospital, where he died.
Witnesses told detectives that they heard gunshots and when they found him, they tried to help him and called the police.
Investigators identified three suspects: A 16-year-old and Isaiah Conner, 23, were arrested and charged with Thomas’ murder. Lamaya Hillis, 20, was charged with accessory after the fact in Thomas’ murder.
A week after Thomas’ death, News4JAX spoke with his mother and grandmothers.
“A shining light, he pulled us together. He would make his point to make sure his sister and brothers were always with him,” Nina Smith, his grandmother, said.
She said he enjoyed riding dirt bikes and breeding dogs.
“My heart would drop every time I saw him,” Smith said. “I hold my breath, I’ve been out. He was following me to the car and said, ‘Let me show you what I can do.’ Or he would come up to my house and say ‘Get your phone out start recording, but I’m gonna walk it all the way down the street for you.’”