Nearly two years after a 25-year-old was found dead on a Baldwin roadway, the man believed to be responsible has been arrested.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has arrested 59-year-old Dennis Mixon for arson and murder. The arrest report does not give any additional information at this time regarding the motive for the murder, and how arson was involved in the death. Read more
via dallasnews.com – Valerie Wigglesworth
Answers have finally arrived for the family of a Dallas man whose decomposing body was found in the trunk of his car at an abandoned Collin County gas station nearly nine years ago.
Richard Robinson, 49, died of homicidal violence, according to his July 2009 autopsy. But it wasn’t until Friday that three people were charged in connection with his death. Read more
***** UPDATE – ARREST MADE *****
On May 16, 2017 the New Orleans Police Department arrested Johnie Miller, 60, on an out of state warrant for second-degree murder and attempted armed robbery in the 43-year-old cold case of Fuad “Freddie” Farah. The warrant was issued out of Jacksonville, Florida after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit was able to match Miller’s fingerprints to items left at the scene. Detectives were also able to retrieve valuable information from a witness who was only 14 at the time of the botched robbery. Freddie Farah’s case was featured on our site in a Cold Case Spotlight back in April at the request of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in hopes of generating more information on the case. Read more
**UPDATE** On Monday, February 27, 2017, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Tiffany Higginbotham, 29. She is charged with leaving the scene of a traffic crash with a death. Read more
On July 27, 2013, 22-year-old Corey Laykovich told a friend that he was going to grab a soda at a convenience store before heading home for the night. At some point after hanging up the phone with his friend, Corey was attacked and fatally stabbed. Read more
On January 14, 2014 at around 1:30 in the morning, 33-year-old Jamal Fleming stepped out of his friends car at the Chevron station on W. Memorial Blvd in Lakeland, Florida. As Jamal pumped gas he was shot once, in the head, from the direction of North Brunnell Parkway. Read more
****UPDATE****
On July 26, 2017, Erron Markese Coleman pleaded guilty in the July 2015 murder of Daniel Rowe who was robbed, shot and killed outside a Jacksonville, Florida restaurant. In open court, Coleman identified Devonte Lafelton Hanford as the second suspect involved in Daniel’s murder. Coleman stated that during the robbery, Daniel complied with everything the suspects demanded, including handing over his wallet, money, and lying flat on the ground. Coleman, a 12-time felon, admitted to firing two shots, while Daniel Rowe was on the ground, after hearing a noise and assuming someone was coming. Daniel’s wallet contained $4.00. Coleman will be sentenced in September and the judicial process will now begin for Hanford, who was arrested on July 29, 2017. Read more
On Sunday, June 29, 2014 a passer-by found the body of 36-year-old Rebekah “Becky” Bletsch on the side of Automobile Road in Muskegon County, Michigan. Becky was less than a mile from her home and found along her usual jogging route. Originally thought to be the victim of a hit and run, investigators discovered that Becky had actually been shot three times in the back of the head. On May 25, 2016 a Muskegon County prosecutor, surrounded by law enforcement officials and in front of members of Becky’s family, announced the arrest of Jeffery Thomas Willis, 46, for the murder of Becky Bletsch. Read more
UPDATE: On March 12, 2018 Johnny Wayne Johnson pleaded guilty to the 2012 murder of Sherry Lee Prather. Johnson was sentenced to 20.4 years in prison. Though no motive has ever been established, Sherry’s family expressed relief that Johnson would be off the streets. The family made it a point to thank all those that helped along the way in their search for justice.
PREVIOUS UPDATE: On November 19, 2016 the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested Johnny Wayne Johnson for the 2012 murder of Sherry Lee Prather. Johnson was the man seen on camera giving Sherry a ride from the bar. Johnson is currently in the Duval County Jail awaiting trial. Detectives are seeking additional information from witnesses. Please contact the Sheriff’s Office if you know anything about this case.
Sherry Prather, 43, can be seen, in a surveillance video, climbing onto the back of a motorcycle in the Boots & Bottles Tavern parking lot on New Berlin Road in Jacksonville, Florida around 2:20am on October 12, 2012. Sherry’s remains were found a month later in the woods off Braddock Road about 15 miles away from where she was last seen. The man Sherry was seen leaving with told investigators that he dropped Sherry off a short time after leaving the bar. Detectives need the help of the public to solve this case.
Sherry’s family has created a memorial Facebook page, Justice for Sherry, and have vowed to never stop searching for Sherry’s killer.
If you have any information, no matter how small you think it is, about Sherry Prather’s murder, please call the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at (904) 630-2172. To remain anonymous call Crime Stoppers at (866) 845-TIPS. You may be eligible for a reward of up to $3,000 if your Crime Stoppers tip leads to an arrest in this case.
