Man arrested in connection with body found in Marco Lake

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced Friday morning that it has made an arrest in connection to a woman’s body found floating in a lake two weeks ago.

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On Tuesday, July 12 around 7:00 a.m., patrol officers with JSO responded to 800 Sorrento Rd. in reference to a body located in a small lake fed from the St. Johns River. A woman reported that while on a morning walk, she observed what appeared to be a body floating in the waters of Marco Lake.

Personnel from the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and JSO’s Dive Team responded to the scene and retrieved the body of a 24-year-old woman from the water, where she was pronounced deceased at the scene.

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Homicide Detectives and Evidence Technicians were notified and responded to the area to begin their respective investigations. It was suspected early on that the death of the victim involved foul play, and it was quickly determined to be a murder.

Evidence was discovered at the scene, and the victim’s vehicle was later discovered abandoned, where further evidence was obtained leading to a person of interest in the case.

Detectives were able to isolate the identified person of interest as the prime suspect, 26-year-old Dedric Jaquan Rashan Wesley. Following an initial interview with detectives, an arrest warrant was obtained for the suspect.

A friend tell Action News Jax the victim and alleged suspect previously dated.

With assistance from the JSO SWAT Unit, Wesley was located and taken into custody Thursday night without incident.

Action News Jax uncovered Wesley has a criminal history. In 2017, he was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. In 2020, he was arrested for drug possession, and just four days ago, he was arrested, again, for possession of marijuana.

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