JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two 17-year-olds will be spending Friday night in jail - and probably many more.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests of teenagers Donte McGhee and Tavaris Kelly Friday in connection to the westside shooting death of 7-year-old Breon Allen Jr.
Sheriff T.K. Waters said that these two suspects were the actual gunmen who carried out this shooting, and they are both members of the criminal gang 6 Block.
Both now face 1st degree murder charges and will be tried as adults.
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“When you lose such a treasured child in a situation like this, and let me stress this, there’s no murder that we take lightly. None whatsoever. But when you do the child in that manner, it weighs on you,” said Sheriff Waters.
On January 14th, Breon was walking with his cousin, 21-year-old Lafayette Mango Jr., on Commonwealth Avenue, when gunshots were fired towards them. Police said the drive-by shooting was “gang-related” and Mango was the intended target.
McGhee and Kelly are the 5th and 6th suspects arrested in this case.
Earlier this month, JSO arrested 18-year-old Keith Fields, 20-year-old Dannel Larkins, 21-year-old Keith Johnson, and 24-year-old Zharod Sykes in connection to the case. They face charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and attempted second-degree murder for Breon’s death.
Breon’s family was present at Friday’s press conference. His mother said she wasn’t expecting this many arrests to be made.
“I thought it was only going to be like two, maybe two or three people,” said Casheena Love. “But to find out that it’s six and then they’re all kids, haven’t even experienced life yet, that’s what’s crazy.”
Action News Jax Madison Foglio asked Love if these two arrests brought her any sort of closure. She quickly said no.
“If they just would have let my baby live, then I would have been satisfied with just that,” said Love.
Sheriff T.K. Waters confirmed with Action News Jax that all 6 suspects arrested in Breon’s case were involved with the criminal 6 Block gang.
Related: Ongoing gang war is tied to shooting death of Jacksonville 7-year-old, according to arrest warrants
“This shooting was a culmination of escalating violence between two rival street groups,” said Sheriff Waters. “It was a targeted, planned act of bloodshed.”
The 6 Block gang is the same gang that Jacksonville rapper Julio Foolio was involved with before his murder.
When Allen was shot, he was with his older cousin, Lafayette Mango Jr. According to investigators, Mango is a documented gang associate of ATK, a gang with a rivalry against 6 Block.
Action News Jax Madison Foglio pressed Sheriff Waters, asking him, “Do you think this is a turning point in gang violence in the city?”
“I think we’ve made a lot of strides in that direction for a while now. We’re putting the right people in places where they belong, which is in prison or awaiting trial,” said Sheriff Waters. “We’re going to continue to do that.”
Sheriff Waters believes these two arrests will be the last arrests made in this case.
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