ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The St. Augustine Police Department and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday placed a plaque at the site where two men were shot and left inside a burning SUV in November.
Charles Ray Durden, 27, and Staffon Demarius Larry, 26, were found dead inside the SUV on Spring Street near Fred Waters Way in St. Augustine on Nov. 16.
When authorities arrived, the SUV was engulfed in flames that were so hot, they melted off the writing on a nearby street sign and burned a street light. After firefighters put out the fire, officers found the two bodies inside the Dodge Journey.
The Medical Examiner's Office later ruled the men's deaths homicides. The cause of death was by gunshot and arson, deputies said.
The Durden and Larry families joined authorities for the plaque-placing ceremony.
“I don’t want no parent -- no brothers, sisters, no loved one -- to have to go through what I’m standing here going through today,” Durden's mother, Annette Durden, said. “It’s not fun at all, knowing that your child is gone and you don’t know why or who did it.”
Police still have no leads in the case and are hoping the endeavor will garner more public interest and provide more information and evidence.
“They’ve got a lot of information,” St. Augustine Police spokesman Mark Samson said. “They just need more to back up what they already have in place and make sure, again, that when they go forward with the state attorney in the courtroom that their case is solid and it’s winnable.”
The plaque includes information about the crime and how to contact investigators with any tips.
Anyone with information regarding Durden and Larry’s shooting is asked to contact the St. Augustine Police Department at 904-825-1074, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office at 904-824-8304, or call Crime Stoppers at 888-277-TIPS.