PALATKA, Fla. – Detectives have made a murder arrest in the New Year’s Eve shooting death of a Palatka city commissioner’s son, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Rondale King, 34, was booked Monday into the Putnam County jail, where he’s being held without bond on a charge of second-degree murder, jail records show.
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The murder charge stems from a shooting that unfolded about 10:20 p.m. Dec. 31 at a Campbell Street apartment complex that left 25-year-old Jahme Jones dead.
“After further investigation by our detectives and the (State Attorney’s Office investigators), we feel confident to charge Rondale King with second-degree murder,” Sheriff “Gator” DeLoach said.
Authorities acknowledged King was interviewed in the days following the shooting, but he was not formally placed under arrest until Monday morning.
Police were called to the apartment complex on New Year’s Eve where they found Jones, son of City Commissioner Tammie McCaskill Williams, suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
Paramedics rushed Jones to Putnam Community Medical Center for treatment, but he did not survive.
Preliminary details released by investigators indicated that the suspected shooter and Jones may have been involved in some sort of scuffle fueled by an unspecified dispute earlier in the evening.
Though the shooting happened within the jurisdiction of the Palatka Police Department, Police Chief Jason Shaw asked the Sheriff’s Office to take over the case in light of the circumstances.
At the time, Shaw said he had complete confidence in his agency’s ability to investigate the incident, but wanted a third party to oversee the case because of “the families whose members were involved.”