JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 19-year-old accused of shooting and killing a teenager in the parking lot of a Mandarin apartment complex late last year will face a judge Thursday morning to enter a plea.
Colton Moore is charged with second-degree degree murder in the shooting death of 16-year-old Derek Pitts in the parking lot of the Coopers Hawk Apartment Homes on Dec. 30.
On the night of the shooting, JSO said there was a large party that happened at another apartment complex nearby but the party moved to Coopers Hawk after the young crowd was chased out by security. A witness said the address for the party was posted on social media.
When the group went to Coopers Hawk, witnesses told JSO, the word spread that the party was going “to get shot up.” A fight broke out between two groups and someone wearing a black ski mask and black gloves pulled out a gun and started shooting. At least 10 shots were fired, and Pitts was hit by one.
JSO had multiple tips through First Coast Crime Stoppers on the shooting, which led them to Moore. He was on 12-month probation after pleading guilty to car theft in September.
When detectives visited Moore on Feb. 6, they found loose bullets in his apartment, so he was arrested for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.
JSO later had an inmate wear a recording device and talk to Moore in jail. What Moore said to the informant was redacted in his arrest report, but the statements Moore made to the inmate, along with physical evidence and statements from witnesses, were enough to charge him with murder, JSO said.