JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville family is still calling for justice a year after their 23-year-old son was found dead in a parking lot.
“You cannot begin to imagine the pain and the grief and the sorrow to know that you will never see your son again," Rose Devoe, the mother of Gabriel Devoe, said.
A year and 11 days ago, Gabriel Devoe was found murdered in a Arlington Parking lot.
The 23-year-old was in his last semester of college. His killer was never caught.
"He was preparing to graduate, we were all so excited and I was preparing for retirement and someone decided that my son didn’t need to live," Devoe said.
It’s stories like this that are pushing leaders with ICARE, the Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation & Empowerment, to call on the Sheriff’s office to do more to reassess their Group Violence Intervention Programs.
"We’re not asking the sheriff to take our word for it. We believe that this approach works when it’s implemented fully and we want the national network to evaluate what that looks like," Rev. Adam Gray, Riverside Church, said.
Just last week, JSO hosted this year’s Group Violence Intervention Conference in conjunction with the National Network for Safe Communities. During the three-day event, community organizations and members were able to learn about the intervention techniques and strategies. Leaders also point out that murders are down 19% from this time last year.
JSO did not have an answer on whether or not the Sheriff would consider an assessment from the National Network, which ICARE leaders say would cost between 30-80 thousand dollars.
Devoe said people living in Jacksonville can make a difference right now just by speaking up. "If you saw something, say something, that’s the only way that we’re going to make a difference in our community."