JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. — A woman convicted of killing a man in Jacksonville Beach more than a year ago has been sentenced to 35 years in prison.
Akiyah Price pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Sept. 19.
On 4th Avenue in front of the restaurant O-Ku, police responded to a man bleeding from the side of his head on Sept 24, 2023. Emergency personnel declared 26-year-old Matthew Swiger dead at the scene.
Witnesses told police they saw the victim fighting in front of the restaurant with another person wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, the report said. O-Ku employees broke up the fight and the victim ran across the street towards the 100 block of 4th Avenue N and the person wearing the red hooded sweatshirt followed him, the report continued.
Several witnesses identified Price at the scene.
As one of the witnesses helped the man who was shot, the victim stated, "Akiyah Price, Akiyah Price, she did this," the report said
The Jacksonville Beach General Investigations Unit and SWAT team arrested Price on murder charges on Beach Dune Drive in Jacksonville Beach at 2:54 a.m. the next day.
Investigators found one bullet casing outside her front door that appeared to match the caliber found at the crime scene after she was taken into custody, according to the report.
Her sentence will be followed by five years of probation and community-controlled supervision.
Swiger's family and friends told First Coast News he was the biggest Jags fan, a fiercely protective son and a great uncle.
