Polk County Sheriff’s Office Homicide detectives are seeking the identity of a suspect seen on video surveillance in the homicide of 29-year-old Xavier Antonio Johnson of St. Petersburg.
As previously released: On April 13, 2022, Johnson was fatally shot during a drug transaction inside a home on Acorn Drive in Davenport that he and his associates were renting via Air BNB. According to the investigation, Johnson and his associates had been selling trafficking amounts of marijuana from the house since April 8, 2022, when they took occupancy. Around 8:30 p.m. on April 13th, unknown suspects went inside the house, and shot the victim.
Video was released showing three unknown males carrying the victim out of the house, and thanks to tips received from the community, those three men were positively identified. Those three men drove Xavier Johnson to the Heart of Florida hospital and left him there. He succumbed to his injuries and died.
Also identified over the Easter weekend was 29-year-old Justin Jenkins (DOB 7/5/92) of Volusia County, and he has been taken into custody and booked into the Volusia Jail on a Polk County warrant for first degree murder. His criminal history includes 35 previous felonies and 20 previous misdemeanors. He will be transferred to the Polk County Jail at a later date.
We are releasing additional video today that shows Jenkins and an unknown white or Hispanic male – we are seeking the public’s help to identify the unknown male. The video is posted on our YouTube page https://youtu.be/ZIwIe0Wdtlo
