Crime a key focus of San Marco community meeting with Jacksonville mayor following double murder

Speeding and flooding also concerns of San Marco residents

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan and Councilman Joe Carlucci on Thursday night continued her series of community meetings in San Marco.

The conversations are a chance for her to listen to residents and answer any questions or concerns they might have.

The topics touched on at the well-attended meeting at a San Marco church included flooding, housing and speeding, but multiple people brought up crime.

Their concerns come after two women were killed Wednesday morning near the train tracks on Hendricks Avenue.

RELATED: Dos Gatos employee identified as one of the women killed in San Marco double shooting

One of the victims has been identified as Paige Pringle, an employee at Dos Gatos, a bar located downtown.

“We need at the train crossings we need cameras we need video cameras are monitored by somebody to see what’s going on,” said one resident.

Other crime issues talked about were people going to the end of the streets doing what residents believe to be illegal activity.

A solution to this problem, according to resident Lorraine Lee, is to bring more patrolling into the area.

“We would like to have our streets monitored a little more. That way if someone doesn’t know if officers are going to come down there, I don’t think we’d have as much traffic as we do,” Lee said.

Lee said she has lived in her neighborhood for decades and she thinks the patrolling would make it safer like when she first moved in.

Other issues brought up Thursday evening included issues with code enforcement, wanting to do something about un-housed people in the area, as well as traffic.

And voicing these issues is something one resident said people need to do more often to make sure change gets made.

“Your voice is important. Things get lost but your voice will not if you go in front of somebody they can’t say they didn’t hear that,” Bill Wentz said.

The meeting was part of the mayor’s 14 community conversations which will be held in the city’s 14 council districts.


About the Author

Khalil Maycock joined the News4JAX team in November 2022 after reporting in Des Moines, IA.

Recommended Videos