On the evening of August 1, 2019, 42-year-old Jovan Leonard Richo of Fernandina Beach, Florida, was shot at about 7:22 p.m. at the intersection of South 9th and Elm Streets. A gunman drove up, exited a gray vehicle and fired four rounds into a crowd; Richo was the only person struck. He was hit in the arm and a bullet traveled into his chest. He was taken to Baptist Nassau and later flown to UF Health Jacksonville, where he died just before midnight.

Witnesses said the shooting followed a verbal altercation among a group of women; several saw the shooter point a black handgun, prompting people to scatter. Family described Richo as quiet and smiling, and said he had been trying to push others out of harm’s way when he was shot. Investigators said the attack appeared to be retaliation for an earlier dispute; Richo and the alleged shooter, 32-year-old Zachary Verdier Jamison, were known to each other.

Jamison was located at his home by Nassau County deputies, denied being at the scene or handling a gun, and was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault. This was the first homicide in Fernandina Beach since 2016; that earlier shooting, which killed 67-year-old Johnell Richo, remains unsolved. Does anyone who knew Jovan or who was in the area that night have information to share?