The State Attorney’s Office for the Eighth Judicial Circuit announced on Friday the indictment by the Fall Term Grand Jury of five Gainesville men on various charges, including first degree murder, in two separate cases.
In the first case, Alderious White, 29, Jason Travis Ward, 38, and Patrick Owen Watson, 49, all face first-degree murder charges in the death of D’halani Armstrong during a home invasion robbery on July 19, 2022.
White and Ward were previously indicted in the case but Chief of Investigations Darry Lloyd said the charges were updated this week.
White, Ward and Watson also face charges of burglary while armed with a firearm/home invasion robbery, solicitation to commit home invasion robbery with a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the initial report, the shooting occurred around 7 a.m. on July 19 at the home of Dovico Miles, 2017 NE 16th St. in Gainesville.
Court records say White and Ward broke into the home but were met by Miles, who wrestled a gun away from one of the suspects and hid it in his home. Police later charged Miles with tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Those charges, however, were later dropped, court records show.
Shots from both sides rang out, killing Armstrong and hitting both White and Ward.
Once GPD arrived on the scene, officers performed extensive life-saving procedures on White, Ward and Armstrong before they were transported to a nearby hospital, according to the report.
It was later determined that White and Ward and a third person — a driver — were sent to the home by Watson, according to a sworn complaint. The complaint alleges that Watson organized and prepared the others to obtain narcotics, money and jewelry from inside the home.
Second shooting case
In the second case, the grand jury indicted Aziel Dejayn Brown Gainey, 21, and Jerquay Lavon Freeman, 18, in the Sept. 1, 2022, shooting death of Romeo Sheppard.
Gainey and Freeman both face charges of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
According to the report, law enforcement officers responded to the Gardenia Gardens Apartments, 1731 NE Eighth Ave., following a report that someone had been shot. Officers found Sheppard in the driver’s seat of a white Volkswagen Jetta with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Surveillance video from the apartment complex reportedly shows Gainey and Freeman open fire as they approach the driver’s side of the Volkswagen. The report says that both Gainey and Freeman fired shots at Sheppard, who was unarmed and seated in the vehicle with the window down.
The report notes that Freeman later discussed the murder with an inmate during a phone call at the Alachua County Jail.
Starke murder case
The State Attorney’s Office also announced on Friday that Ted’Qwon Lee McCowan, 21, was found guilty of first-degree murder on Thursday after a three-day trial.
McCowan was convicted in the Nov. 5, 2021, shooting death of Joshua Christopher Demps in Starke. McCowan reportedly shot Demps following a verbal altercation in a vehicle. The report says that Demps exited from the driver’s seat, and then McCowan excited from the passenger side and shot Demps in the head.
McCown’s sentencing hearing will be held March 1.