6 indicted for 1st-degree murder in Jacksonville cases

Top left to bottom right: Deontrae Thomas, Jebre Cook, Trevon Wiley, Cecil Burney, Eric Jackson, Omar Lewis

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Six men have been indicted for first-degree murder in separate cases that occurred in Jacksonville, according to a news release Thursday from the State Attorney's Office.

The cases range from the murder of gas station clerk, gunned down during a holdup at a Gate gas station, to a man who was found stabbed to death at his Northside apartment. 

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A grand jury returned first-degree murder charges for:

Jebre Cook

Jebre Cook is also charged with two counts of armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a juvenile delinquent found to have committed a felony act. 

Cook was arrested after the fatal shooting of Martin Hower, 55, who was shot at the Gate Station on Merrill Road during a holdup that took place minutes before an Atlantic Boulevard Gate station was robbed.

Omar Lewis

Omar Lewis is accused of stabbing a man to death in his Northside apartment. Jessie Sumlar IV, 30, was found dead July 19 in the Water's Edge Apartments on Broward Road by a maintenance worker.  

Surveillance photos and tips led police to Lewis. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement matched Lewis' DNA to the crime scene.

Deontre Thomas

Deontre Thomas is also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, armed burglary and shooting or throwing deadly missiles, among other charges. 

Thomas is charged in the shooting death of Zion Brown, 18, who was killed in a triple shooting on Jacksonville's Westside. A 9-year-old girl and a 16-year-old girl were injured.

Cecil Burney

Cecil Burney is also charged with second-degree felony murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a juvenile found to have committed a felony.

In March 2018, Raheem Prather and Raymond Dixon were shot and killed by a security guard during a holdup at Spin City Sweepstakes Internet Cafe on Beach Boulevard, police said.

Court records show Burney, who was grazed, was indicted for first-degree murder and second-degree murder after the deaths of Prather and Dixon. An arrest report found Burney took his shirt off in the getaway car and investigators later matched his DNA with blood on the shirt.

A fourth suspect, Skyler Aftoora, was arrested in 2018 and charged with two counts of felony murder.

Eric Jackson

Eric Jackson is also charged with two counts of armed robbery and possession of a firearm by a juvenile delinqent found to have committed a felony. 

Jackson was accused of shooting and killing Nekechena Phillips at a home in Lackawanna.

Trevon Wiley

Trevon Wiley is also charged with attempted second-degree murder. 

Wiley is accused of killing Ziykye Barn, 19, and injuring another man at a makeshift barber shop on the Westside.​