A car that matches the description of the one being sought by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was caught on surveillance video in the Yellow Bluff Landing neighborhood Monday morning, hours before a homeowner was shot and killed.
"It looked kind of suspicious to me. I grabbed the firearm and went back to the door to check," neighbor Benjamin Sharpe said.
Sharpe said he had just woken up when he noticed a man standing at his front door. "He positioned himself next to the door without knocking or anything," Sharpe said.
Action News Jax got surveillance video from a neighbor that shows a black SUV parked across the street from Sharpe’s house. The video captured a man dressed in all black who walked up to Sharpe’s front door.
"(The unidentified man) said that he was looking for a missing a dog. I told him I haven't seen it and at that point and he just left," Sharpe said.
This happened around 7:40 a.m. on Monday and, less than 20 minutes later, a woman said her neighbor’s home was broken into, just a couple of streets over. The woman said the thieves took a laptop and tablet.
In addition, Sharpe said that a woman who pulled up to her house after dropping off her child at school came face to face with one of the suspects.
"He came out of the garage and pointed a gun at them and left," Sharpe said.
Download the Action News Jax and First Alert Weather apps
Sharpe said he’s thankful that he stayed home from work and that his wife did not met the man at the door instead. "It's scary. I mean, my wife and I have a 2-year-old and my work schedule fluctuates. The fact that I happen to be home was kind of a convenience and a blessing," Sharpe said.
Sharpe thinks that the thieves are using the fact that the neighborhood is relatively new to their advantage. "I believe being a new neighborhood with new construction might be an opportunity for new people, new faces," Sharpe said.
Sharpe said the man looked to be in his early 20s.
Cox Media Group
