JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man was sentenced to life in prison Friday for the double murder of a couple at a Bowden Road ATM in 2022.
Around 9:30 p.m. on June 20, officers responded to a reported shooting at the intersection of Bowden Road and Spring Park Road. Jamarion Barnes, 21, and Tyniya Powell, 20, were found shot several times, Barnes dying at the scene and Powell later succumbing to her injuries at a local hospital, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said.
Raishion Gist, now 22, was arrested and charged with the murder of both two days later. A jury found Gist guilty of the murders in May. The sentence was read by Judge Jonathan Sacks.
The first witnesses called was Powell's mother. She said her daughter's death shattered her into a million pieces and referred to her death as a "life sentence."
"Tyniya was gorgeous inside and out, no one will ever change the powerful woman she had become," she said.
Tyniya's younger sister, Taleyah Goodan, wearing a shirt with pictures of the Tyniya's face, told the court she'll never get to see her sister get married or have success later in life. Following the sentencing, Goodan told First Coast News she and her sister were close.
“I hope that the person that did this to her and Jamarion, I feel like I want him to have sympathy for them," Goodan said. "I don’t really have anger toward him, I don’t want him to suffer. I just want him to understand the true pain that he caused.”
Barnes' sister also addressed the court. She said he was exceptional, sweet, loving and cool. Every day is a struggle without him, she said.
"It was his kindness that led him to be taken advantage of by someone he trusted," she continued.
Terri Barnes, Barnes' mother, said her life was forever changed and she cherished the memory of her son's smile. She said Powell happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and Gist's mother also lost a son. Barnes' young daughter only got to spend one Father's Day with her father before he was killed, Terri Barnes said.
"The pain of losing two sons in such a short time is unimaginable," she said. "... the hole of Jamarion's loss will never be filled."
Following the sentencing, Barnes told First Coast News she lost her son Jamarion and her other son, Jelijah, to gun violence within 100 days. She said Jamarion Barnes's daughter will soon be three years old.
“His daughter, she is growing up to learn her father by a picture," Barnes said. "She knows him from a picture. That was his happiest day of his life when he became a dad. He loved her to pieces and it breaks my heart that he’s not here to watch her grow and all of her firsts.”
Prosecutor Joseph Licandro said the killings were senseless and unnecessary. He called Gist's actions "cowardly, diabolical and almost sociopathic." He called for a life sentence.
Attorney Obinna Prince Anum said Gist maintains his innocence and intends to appeal the sentence.
Around the time of the arrest, JSO credited the community's crime tips with assisting the agency. According to Gist's arrest warrant, one of the victims spoke with Gist through texts and FaceTime calls earlier that day. They coordinated with Gist to pick him up close to his home, which is less than a mile from the scene. One of the victim's phones was left in the car and collected as evidence when reviewed.
According to the warrant, Gist texted one of the victims earlier in the day, "Aye I need a p cuz my plug still in Texas."
The warrant also said when they pulled up next to the ATM, Gist, who was in the back seat of the car, killed the couple and stole a gun from one of the victims.
Surveillance footage of the ATM shows a person in the video leaning into a car before walking away with something in his or her hands, leaving the driver's door open. Seconds later, the person runs back to the car, closes the front door, opens the back door, leans in, then closes the back door.
The person runs away, passing two cars. From 9:18 p.m. to about 9:22 p.m. two people use the ATM that is next to the parked car. The passenger front door appears to be open. Both cars the people using the ATM arrived in leave by 9:25 p.m.
A few other cars drive through the lot over the next couple of minutes. Around 9:28 p.m., another person uses the ATM. The person appears to look at the passenger side of the car.
First responders arrive at 9:29 p.m. The video appears to show first responders pull the male victim out of the driver's side and perform life-saving measures. While Barnes is pronounced dead in the car, police said they found Powell lying on the ground outside of the passenger side of the car. The keys were in the ignition, police said.
Officers said before they could notify next of kin, loved ones began showing up to the scene. Family and friends say Barnes and Powell were dating. Barnes left behind a 9-month-old daughter.
MAD DADS Jacksonville Chapter outreach coordinator A.J. Jordan said at the time he talked to Barnes' mother and learned Barnes' younger brother was shot and killed three months prior to Jamarion's death.
In court Friday, Barnes' sister lamented that both of her brothers and Powell were lost to gun violence.
