ORANGE PARK, Fla. — A shooting involving three local sailors left two female sailors dead and one male sailor in Clay County Jail.
Taylor Marques Lomax, 22, has been charged with two counts of 2nd-degree murder and is being held without bond after Clay County sheriff’s deputies allege he shot and killed 21-year-old Noely Makenda and 20-year-old Jordyn Forrestier in the Savannah Glen neighborhood of Orange Park, Wednesday night.
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According to the sheriff’s office, Lomax’s wife came to the home shared by Lomax and the two victims that night and began arguing with his two female roommates.
A fight between the women broke out in the front yard, according to sheriff’s deputies, and that’s when Lomax allegedly grabbed a handgun and fired more than 30 rounds, striking both victims multiple times.
‘It’s just too close to home’
Ashley Durham, whose home is just down the street, has lived in the neighborhood for over 15 years.
She told Action News Jax she heard the shots ring out.
“It’s just too close to home. It’s very scary cause it’s kids, and we don’t usually have crime in this neighborhood. It’s just scary,” Durham said.
Lomax’s wife is the one who reportedly called 9-1-1.
Lomax was arrested, and his wife was questioned. She has since been released.
‘They started jumping me’
A woman who identified herself as Lomax’s wife came up to Action News Jax’s Jake Stofan as he was reporting on this story during our 5 p.m. newscast.
She said the shots fired by her husband were fired in self-defense. She explained that her husband was protecting her when he shot and killed the women.
“In the house they slammed the door, being loud and insinuating they would beat a (expletive) up, which they was insinuating at me because they don’t like me,” she said. “I got out of my bed and said ‘Everyone has to get out.’ So once I said everyone has to get out, I came out, out on the phone with my momma. They came out and they both said ‘ What the (expletive) is your problem.’ I said ‘Y’all have been disrespecting me in my house, y’all have to go.’ So Noely Makenda was the one that hit me in my face, I ended up hitting her back and we got to fighting that’s when Jordyn jumped in and they started jumping me. That’s when my husband fired shots.”
‘We had a suspect down the street from us’
The sheriff’s office confirmed that Lomax and both victims all served in the US Navy.
Video Action News Jax found on the Birmingham City Schools Facebook Page shows Lomax surprising his mother after coming home from a nine-month deployment in August of last year.
In the video, his mother refers to him as her “hero” and states that before joining the Navy, he was steering towards “street life.”
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Durham said the entire ordeal has left her and her neighbors with a feeling of unease and sadness for the two women who lost their lives.
“You have to be on your p’s and q’s, not always, but like now with the kids playing outside, you don’t know what’s gonna happen now,” said Durham. ”Like, we had a suspect like down the street from us, like a couple of houses down. So, that’s scary.”
The Clay County Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone with information to call (904) 264-6512 or report a tip through the SaferWatch app.
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