JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two Jacksonville teenagers, one of them just 13 years old, are facing murder charges in connection with the killing of a man in a gas station parking lot last week.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced Wednesday the arrest of 13-year-old Jeremiah Elijah Hill, and his cousin, 18-year-old Keyshaun Hill.
Investigators said they're still looking for another teen involved: 17-year-old Cameron Sneed.
Police said they were able to make the arrests after a key witness came forward.
After they interviewed Jeremiah, detectives said he confessed to shooting 25-year-old Tony Johnson on June 10 at a BP gas station on North Main Street, several blocks north of Historic Springfield.
Johnson's family said he had three young children and was about to become a father for a fourth time.
Police said Jeremiah and the two others were meeting Johnson (photo inset in crime scene picture) at the gas station about 3 a.m. to trade handguns when the deal took a turn.
Investigators said that during the transaction Jeremiah began firing multiple shots at Johnson. When Johnson's 24-year-old friend tried to run, investigators said Jeremiah and Sneed began firing at him, hitting him several times. They then took off in Johnson's silver Chevrolet Malibu.
Two days later, investigators got a tip that broke the case.
"A witness cooperated and gave us some information," JSO Assistant Chief Chris Butler said. "We ended up arresting Jeremiah Hill on the 12th at about 4 a.m. and about 12 hours later we arrested Keyshaun Hill around 4 p.m. in the afternoon."
According to the police report, that witness was Jeremiah Hill's mother, Valentine Robinson, but Robinson told News4Jax on Wednesday that she had no idea about her son's connection to the case until Jeremiah was arrested.
The mother of one of the victims said she was glad arrests have been made in the case.
Sneed still has not been found. He has an active arrest warrant for murder. Police believe he could be in Decatur, Georgia, where he has relatives.
As police search for Sneed, residents in Jeremiah Hill's neighborhood try to understand what could have caused these teens to do what police have accused them of.
"You don't think that a young person would even have that in his mind like that to do anything like that," Jeremiah Hill's neighbor, Cedric Pittman, said. "I was shocked. I heard about that killing. I was thinking it was a much older person that did that, so it's a big shock.
"We live in a video game world," Pittman said. "You look at some of these videos, some of these movies they have out these days, and everybody just seeing that play stuff is not play stuff, it's for real."
Police said they feel confident they will find Sneed, but they are asking for the community's help.
They said he is a black male, 5 feet, 11 inches tall and weighing 155 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes and was last ween wearing dark clothing.
Anyone with information about the case or Sneed's whereabouts is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.