JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has made an arrest in a murder that happened on May 18, according to a press release.
Derrick Byron Nicholls, 22, was found inside his car on I-295 at the I-10 interchange suffering from gunshot wounds around 8:10 p.m. that night. JSO said at the time that the vehicle had run off the roadway into trees nearby. He was taken to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Police said 24-year-old Santos Saleem Herring, who was already in the Duval County Jail on other charges, was charged with murder.
A police report said the vehicle Nicolls was shot in belonged to his girlfriend of one week. Officers learned that Nicholls went to sell drugs at the 76 gas station on Collins Road on May 18, the report said. She received a call from Nicholls the day of the killing that he was being chased by a white Nissan.
Police said Santos and the victim were "in a business relationship involving the sale of narcotics" exchanging several messages and they "observed several conversations related to drug activity." Santos and the victim began to argue in text messages on May 9 and continued conversing as recently as May 16. The contents of the messages were redacted in the report.
Detectives were able to locate Santos' path on the day of the murder, the report said, from his apartment to a gas station, over to 6655 Collins Road, and back to his apartment.
On June 25, the US Marshals searching for Santos discovered a white Nissan Altima parked at Grand Cypress Drive apartment complex in Saint Johns. The white Nissan Altima was consistent with the vehicle used in the murder, and its tag was removed, the report said.
Santos was booked on a out-of-county warrant.