By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
A shooting in Williston last week and three earlier shootings in the area commonly called East Williston in the past five months caused heightened security at the Williston City Council meeting Tuesday night.
Police Chief Mike Rolls stood at the entrance to the council chambers for the entire council meeting, which isn’t his usual place in the meetings, just to make sure trouble didn’t come through the city’s front door.
Asked if threats had been made against City Hall, he said there had been comments in the community.
“There were some that were made. When we have those types of incidents, those things happen,” he said. “Just to be on the precaution side. We increased security just a little bit, just for safety. You never know when somebody makes those comments and I don’t react, and something happens, people could say, well, you knew about it.”
Rolls said it wasn’t just the shooting last week in which one man was hit by gunfire that raised concerns.
“It’s just that ongoing feud they’ve got going on over there – different rivals,” he said.
Asked if he was referring to East Williston, he said he doesn’t call the unincorporated area east of Williston by that name.
“I don’t call it East Williston, just Williston. It’s carried over from the shootings – that’s all it is,” Rolls said.
Levy County Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Lt. Scott Tummond said the sheriff’s office has investigated three separate shootings in East Williston since last September. Williston is investigating the fourth shooting.
Tummond said he has been told that all four shootings were connected to an unpaid gambling debt.
“The investigative team told me this could have been sparked by an unpaid gambling debt – all the shootings – and what is the gambling debt? I’m sure we’re not talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars, either.”
Tummond issued a news release recently detailing the three shootings the sheriff’s office investigated in East Williston, the unincorporated area just east of the Williston city limits.
The shooting last week occurred inside the Williston city limits and is being investigated by city police. The shooting reportedly occurred near the old Williston Middle School.
The first shooting investigated by the sheriff’s office occurred on Sept. 24, 2022, in the area of the old Williston Middle School. The investigation revealed individuals exited their vehicles and shot at each other. One suspect fled the scene. Deputies spoke to the other individual who remained on the scene, who said he acted in self-defense. This person could not identify the other individuals involved in the shooting.
Sheriff’s deputies responded on Oct. 12, 2022, to a report of a shooting at the intersection of NE 212th Court and NE 17th Place in East Williston. When deputies arrived they discovered a 21-year-old man had been shot in the back with a .223 caliber rifle. The investigation revealed that a group of men in a passenger car exchanged gunfire with someone who lived in the area. The shooting victim was uncooperative with investigators. Detectives believe he was involved in the initial altercation that occurred on Sept. 24.
The sheriff’s office responded to a shooting at the Toad Stool Bar at 21080 NE 35th St. in East Williston on Dec. 3, 2022. The investigation revealed Jacques Days and Larron Ross exchanged gunfire in the parking lot of the bar. All parties fled before law enforcement arrived. Detectives obtained warrants for Days and Ross. Both were arrested on charges of discharging a firearm from a vehicle and discharging a firearm in a public place.
Days was arrested in the parking lot of the Levy County Courthouse and booked into the Levy County Detention Center. His bond was set at $85,000. The Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force assisted by the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and Levy County Sheriff’s Office located Ross at his home in Gainesville. He posted an $85,000 bond and was released from jail.
Tummond said he saw a recent interview on TV 20 with a leader in the Williston black community who told the reporter the shootings had to stop. The reckless gunfire was endangering people in the community. Tummond said he agreed with the community leader.
“The black-on-black crime – these community folks that are shooting each other has got to stop,” Tummond said. “I wholeheartedly agree with the community leader’s assessment because we have indiscriminate gunfire occurring. What next – I can tell you what’s next – it’s going to be an innocent bystander and I hope to God it’s not a child that’s going to be injured with this indiscriminate gunfire.”
In some of the shootings investigated by the sheriff’s office in the past, 30 to 50 rounds of ammunition were fired in gunfights, Tummond said.
“These aren’t just any rounds that were being fired from BB guns, these are rounds being fired from high-powered rifles – .223 rifles,” he said. “The community needs to stop this feud – come to whatever resolution you need to without the violence or someone’s going to get hurt in the process. We’ve had several vehicles damaged by gunfire in the past – the violence is unnecessary. It gets dangerous the second a trigger is pulled.”
Detectives are seeking the public’s cooperation in investigating these crimes in the Williston community. Anyone who has information about this crime or any other crime is asked to contact the Levy County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 352-486-5111. Tips can be made anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-877-349-8477. You could be eligible for a cash reward.
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Enterprise Reporting by Terry Witt February 7, 2023; Posted February 8, 2023
