STARKE, Fla. — A man accused of a deadly shooting in August in Starke is now behind bars in Duval County and charged with second-degree murder.
The Starke Police Department said the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force arrested 26-year-old Antonio Antwain Butler Tuesday afternoon in a residential neighborhood in Jacksonville's Westside. He's accused of killing 46-year-old Franklin Williams last year.
Police said they were called to 978 Old Lawtey Road on August 21 at 12:18 a.m. to respond to a shooting. Officers said they found Williams with a gunshot wound to the chest and began helping him until EMS arrived.
Williams was taken to Shands Starke Regional Medical Center where he died.
Police said evidence and interviews with neighbors led them to identify Butler as the shooter and issued a warrant for his arrest. They reached out to the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task force when their investigation led them out of the City of Starke for assistance taking Butler into custody.
Butler was taken to the Duval County Pretrial Detention Facility where he is currently awaiting extradition back to Bradford County.
Starke Police Chief Jeff Johnson said "Even in times of national crisis, the fine men and women of the Starke Police Department will not waiver in their duty to bring criminals to answer for their acts and will remain steadfast in their duty to protect the public."
In August, First Coast News reported police said it was the second shooting in the same area within a week. The Bradford County and Union County SWAT served a search warrant on the same block a week earlier.