Federal investigators began searching a home in Jacksonville Beach on Tuesday.
Action News Jax reporters Kaitlyn Chana and Jenna Bourne were outside the home on Fourth Avenue North and Ninth Street, as the Federal Bureau of Investigation served a search warrant.
According to the city property appraiser's website, the home belongs to Ronnie L. Hyde.
Columbia County deputies confirm that Hyde has been arrested and charged with the 1994 murder of Nassau County teen Fred Laster.
Hyde’s Jacksonville Beach neighborhood has been taken over by the FBI since early Tuesday morning.
They could be there for several more days.
Hyde was arrested around 6:30 this morning near his home on 4th Avenue North.
An RV-sized evidence van has been on scene all day as investigators painstakingly search through his home and yard.
Hyde’s home is steps away from a park where children play.
“It’s terrible. It’s frightening,” said neighbor Beverly Horne. “You know, the strange thing about that house, I never saw anybody come and go out of it.”
The street is blocked off, but from the air, Sky Action News Jax spotted a backhoe in the yard, which is used to dig for evidence.
Action News Jax Law and Safety Expert Dale Carson, who is a former FBI special agent, said not only can a backhoe dig for buried evidence in the yard, it can help investigators search through Hyde’s septic tank.
“You can find human remains, obviously. Bones, dental appliances, or actually human teeth,” Carson said.
“It’s crazy. It’s just like watching CSI or something like that,” said neighbor Lindsay Nadeau.
Suited in hazmat gear, FBI investigators pulled box after box of evidence out of the home and placed them on top of blue tarps in the street.
“If the individual is a serial offender, they could find evidence relating to other crimes,” Carson said, adding that DVDs and reel of film investigators were looking through outside Hyde’s home could be important.
“Does he enjoy certain types of magazines? Certain types of videos? Are those things that he has stored in a catalogued way?” Carson asked.
Two weeks ago, the FBI also raided the office of Jacksonville psychiatrist Nikhil Nihalani. The FBI said the two investigations are not related in any way.
Investigators are also going to be searching another one of Hyde's properties on Thelma Street on the Eastside of Jacksonville.
Neighbors say the Dept. of Justice is walking up and down the streets asking neighbors IF they've seen anything strange at this vacant home. pic.twitter.com/kqWLmXP4a3
— Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynChana) March 7, 2017
Here's the statement provided by the #FBI #Jax Division. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/I85h5d8DYc
— Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynChana) March 7, 2017
According to property appraiser's website, Jax Beach home @FBI is raiding right now belongs to Ronnie L. Hyde. @KaitlynANjax @ActionNewsJax
— Jenna Bourne (@jennabourneWTSP) March 7, 2017
.@FBIJacksonville says there is no threat to neighbors on 4th Avenue North. FBI executing a search warrant right now.
— Romney Smith (@RomneySmith) March 7, 2017
.@FBIJacksonville at a home in JAX Beach conducting a search warrant on 4th Avenue North. More info on @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/xfUBdUJMqQ
— Romney Smith (@RomneySmith) March 7, 2017
#BREAKING: FBI is on the scene of a home in JAX beach. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/n4vqxw8OAz
— Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynChana) March 7, 2017
#BREAKING: Officials are conducting a search warrant. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/CKTXBh8dhA
— Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynChana) March 7, 2017
We're learning the #FBI evidence response team is executing a search warrant at a home in Jax Beach. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/wWp0HvSZjp
— Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynChana) March 7, 2017
A neighbor says the home MAY seem vacant, BUT it's NOT. She says the man who lives there is a Christian counselor. @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/xXTRuiOlld
— Kaitlyn Chana (@KaitlynChana) March 7, 2017
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