JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has identified the suspect killed and the six officers involved in a shooting that took place outside of an Arlington supermarket.
The suspect, Antonio Joseph Valentine, 32, had a criminal history that includes 16 adult arrests from six jurisdictions, according to JSO. Those arrests range from retail theft to drug offenses, sexual battery and more.
“In my review of his criminal history, it does not appear he is a convicted felon, even though he had felony offenses," said JSO Director Ron Lendvay. "There might have been a couple where he may have been prohibited from having a firearm, but I didn’t see anything that would prohibit him from possession.”
JSO said six officers fired 21 shots at Valentine and seven bullet wounds were found after he was pronounced dead.
The officers involved in the shooting were:
- Officer R.W.Beltz, who has been with JSO for 19 years
- Officer M.S. Alumureng, who has been with JSO for three years
- Officer D.M. Cochran, who has been with JSO for four years
- Officer T.W. Hogan, who has been with JSO for seven years
- Officer J.E. Stillwell, who has been with JSO for one year
- Officer N.L. Propper, who has been with JSO for about one year and six months.
This is the first officer-involved shooting for all six officers. None of them were assigned body cams and each have been placed on administrative leave, according to JSO. The truck in which Valentine was found in contained marijuana and ammunition for two different types of firearms, including the loaded .22 caliber handgun he had at the time of the shooting, police said.
The gun had been purchased by someone else and JSO is working to determine how Valentine came to have it in his possession.
Police said that the incident began Tuesday near the Harvey's Supermarket at 49 S. Arlington Road, just west of Atlantic Boulevard at 3:54 a.m.
It was at that time that a JSO officer noticed a four-door pickup truck backed up against the bushes outside of the Harveys Supermarket across the Arlington Road. Believing this activity to be suspicious, the officer approached the truck.
Inside the car, the officer observed Valentine lying down in the back seat of the truck who then jumped up into the driver's seat of the vehicle after the officer made contact. The officer pulled Valentine's name up and it came back with a hit as having a felony sexual battery warrant from Leon County, according to police.
Officers say they asked Valentine to step out of the truck but he refused their demands and became non-compliant. Police say he eventually rolled up his windows and locked the doors in the truck.
Backup officers arrived and continued with their dialogue with the suspect who eventually jumped back into the back seat of the truck, they say. An officer broke out the window and tased the man which had no impact.
“Each officer that interacted with him had a different perspective and we’re still working through all those statements,” Lendvay said.
According to JSO, one of the officers was able to get the driver side door open and they observed the man with a gun in his hand rolling over toward the officers. A total of six officers are believed to have fired for a suspect who was struck by multiple rounds at approximately 4:18 a.m.
Twenty-five minutes into this incident, rescue responded and pronounced the suspect deceased.
The investigation remains active and ongoing and JSO is working with the State Attorney's Office on the case.
If you have any information about Valentine or the shooting, call JSO at 904-630-0500.