On the morning of February 21, 2025, officers in Live Oak, Florida, found 24-year-old Joseph Gabriel Simmons fatally shot inside his 2010 silver Audi after a single-vehicle crash at 424 Johnson Avenue. Simmons, the registered owner and believed driver, had suffered a gunshot wound to his upper left torso. Multiple bullet casings and holes in the car indicated the vehicle had been fired upon before it left the roadway; Simmons managed to drive about 75 yards after being shot before the Audi struck a pile of cut firewood and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators determined Simmons had recently connected with 18-year-old Tara Williams via social media; Williams arranged to meet him and directed him to the location. Williams allegedly conspired with 20-year-old Zed Washington and 17-year-old Zac’Tavious Webb to commit a robbery. Washington and Webb reportedly approached the driver’s side and attempted to rob Simmons at gunpoint, and Simmons resisted before being shot. After a month-long investigation, all three suspects were located and arrested and face charges including tampering with evidence, conspiracy to commit robbery, and felony murder.

Simmons, born June 25, 2000, in Tennessee, is remembered by family as having an infectious laughter and a kind heart. Does anyone in the Live Oak area have information about Simmons, the meeting arranged through social media, or the events around 424 Johnson Avenue that morning?