JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An 18-year-old was arrested and charged Tuesday in Saturday night's shooting death of a 16-year-old boy just outside the victim's Southside apartment.
Jeremiah Adams Jr. was arrested with the help of U.S. Marshals and charged with murder in the death of Thomas Mejia Jr.
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Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Lt. Pat Ivey said Adams was trying to rob Mejia when he shot him with a 9 mm pistol in the courtyard of the Desert Winds Apartments, on Mojave Court just off Atlantic Boulevard.
According to the arrest report, Adams walked up to Mejia and said, "Give it," then shot him once in the face.
Police said Mejia had a 9 mm handgun tucked into his waistband when he was shot.
Asked whether the gunman knew his victim, Ivey said Adams admitted he had seen Mejia before in the complex.
"I'm not going to elaborate on it any more than that, to say whether he specifically targeted him," Ivey said. "It's obvious that it was a robbery, and I'm not going to go any further."
Adams' criminal history includes arrests for robbery, grand theft and drug charges.
Mejias' funeral was set for 11 a.m. Wednesday at Bethel Renewal Church, 711 St. Johns Bluff Road N.
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- October 13, 2008: 16-Year-Old Killed Steps From His Apartment