FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — Police are investigating after a veteran's body was found with bullet wounds outside his Fernandina Beach home on Monday in the first homicide in the area in nine years.
Officers said 67-year-old Johnell Richo was found dead on Gum Street after reports of gunfire around 6:30 a.m.
Detectives are trying to connect the shooting to an armed robbery that happened 3 a.m. Sunday on S. 12th Street.
Richo's stepson, 52-year-old John Patrick Wilson, was arrested in connection with the armed robbery, Fernandina Beach police announced Monday afternoon. Wilson is facing charges of attempted second degree murder and armed robbery.
Witnesses said in the robbery incident, Wilson approached two victims as they sat on the porch, pointing a .22-caliber handgun at them and demanding money before firing one shot, according to a release from the Fernandina Beach Police Department. One of the victims struggled with Wilson for control of the rifle, and two more shots were fired.
The victim was able to hold Wilson until police arrived. He believed he was shot in the head during the struggle, as he was taken to Baptist Nassau and then UF Health Jacksonville. However, the wound on his head was not caused by a gunshot and was not considered a serious injury, FBPD said.
Wilson refused to talk with law enforcement and was able to walk out of the hospital a few hours after being admitted.
Wilson, who used to live in Fernandina Beach and now lives in Knoxville, Tenn., said he and his wife were visiting his mother and stepfather, Richo, for the Shrimp Festival.
Officers said Richo was an army veteran and a well-known individual. Police said it does not appear he was involved in any criminal activity.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement gathered evidence at the scene.
Investigators are asking anyone with information in either incident to call Fernandina Beach police.
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