PALATKA, Fla. — A Putnam County Jury has found a man guilty of a 2023 murder committed when he was just 17 years old.
The 2nd-degree murder conviction came down Wednesday after a two-day trial.
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The State Attorney’s Office said the crime was committed at a Palatka home on April 7th, 2023.
In 2023, Action News Jax reported that it happened in the 700 block of North 16th Street in Palatka.
At the time, Price has been invited there by his girlfriend. Officials said that when he walked in, another young man stood up, ready to fight. That’s when Price pulled out a gun and shot him in the torso, before running away.
The injury left Jermarien Edwards dead at the scene.
The State Attorney’s Office said multiple people in the home saw the murder happen and identified Price as the suspect.
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He was located 20 days later by U.S. Marshals in New Jersey.
“This case is a stark example of Young Gun defendants’ total disdain for the sanctity of life,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case. “Gun violence and murder have become too commonplace for these offenders.”
“Young Gun” refers to Operation Young Guns, a multi-county initiative launched in 2022 to address a reported increase in violent gun crime among teenagers and young adults.
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“The goal of our operation is not just cooperation, because we have great cooperation within the 7th Circuit, but to also attack this problem and get these folks off the street that are committing these violent crimes,” State Attorney Larizza said during its launch.
Price is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10th, 2025. He faces up to life in prison.
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