JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The woman previously charged with accessory to the murders of an Uber driver and his passenger, who police say was the target of a gang-related hitman scheme, is now accused of killing both victims.
Diamond Harris, 23, is charged along with Ju'Quan Mills. They both face two counts of second-degree murder.
The victims in the Oct. 19 shooting were identified as Antonio Tillie Jr., 19, and Bryant Grund, 31. Grund was driving for Uber and Tillie was his passenger. Two shooters fired into the car, killing both men, police said.
According to police, Tillie was the intended target, and the shooters were paid to kill him. Grund was caught in the crossfire.
At the time of Mills' arrest on Oct. 19, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said the second shooter was known to them but was not in custody. At that time, they did not name the second suspect.
While Harris was previously accused of luring Tillie to Kylan Drive, where he died, prosecutors now say that Harris also discharged a firearm and is also responsible for the two deaths.
Prosecutors have not released any information shedding light on why Harris's charges were upgraded. However, a document from the State Attorney's Office filing the new charges says that Harris "did actually possess and a discharge a firearm," which inflicted death or great bodily harm on someone.
What happened?
According to his arrest report, Mills told police that Tillie "had $20,000 on his head." He said he received $10,000 because he split the money between himself and another shooter.
On the day of the shooting, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to 7440 Kylan Drive West for reported gunshots. When officers arrived, they located a Mini Cooper Clubvan that had crashed into a home.
Grund was found in the driver's seat and Tillie was in the backseat. Both were suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead on the scene.
Through interviews investigators discovered the victim (Tillie) was going to the area to meet a woman and "they were possibly going to meet up for a date," the report states. The investigation showed there was a target for the homicide and the victim was shot "due to ongoing gang beef and issues," the report states.
A cellphone at the scene was taken to the JSO Computer Forensics Unit and downloaded. The arrest report says it was found that the victim was calling and messaging a person on Instagram and his cell phone traced it back to Diamond Harris.
During Harris’ interview with detectives, the arrest report says Harris admitted to speaking with the victim through Instagram, voice calls, and text messages.
Harris told detectives she denied providing the victim with the incident location and speaking with him around the time of the murder. However, the report says the victim’s cell phone revealed evidence that did not match what Harris said and she was in contact with Harris until his death.
The report says Harris used her phone to contact her boyfriend, Ju’Quan Mills, when she got off the phone with the victim around the time of the murders. Harris denied any involvement with the victim’s death.
On Harris’s phone, detectives found several text threads between Harris and Mills discussing what Harris should message the victim to "keep him interested in seeing her and to presumably lure him to her location," the report states.
Content on Harris’ phone also shows she and Mills were still dating and he was helping her with what to say to the victim.
The arrest report says data from Mills' phone found he was at the scene at the time of the homicide.
During Mills’ interview with detectives, the report says he initially denied all involvement with the murder of the victims and said he was at a 24-hour laundry mat hanging out with a friend.
Mills eventually signed consent for detectives to view his cell phone and showed detectives his recently deleted conversations. Mills says he "used his baby mama’s Instagram account and pretended to be her to message and speak to the victim," the report states. Mills admitted to shooting the victims along with another suspect.
Harris's bond was $250,003. Mills’ bond was $750,000. Both are currently not in jail, are on house arrest, and are represented by public defenders, according to court documents.
Harris's arraignment is set for November 22.
