Arrest made in drug deal homicide

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

Stephan Denard Hutchinson, 28, was arrested yesterday afternoon and charged with first degree murder in the shooting death on Sunday of Shayquan Koreem Turner.

Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officers originally responded to a call at 9:26 p.m. Sunday night in the Woodland Park area and found Turner with a single gunshot would to the torso; Turner later died at the hospital. Officers determined that the shooting occurred at an undetermined time beforehand in the 2200 block of SE 12th Terrace, just east of the Evergreen Cemetery.

According to the arrest report, a third party who was friends with both Turner and Hutchinson arranged for a meeting so Turner could purchase marijuana from Hutchinson; Turner and Hutchinson had not met prior to the shooting. Turner’s wife drove Turner to pick up the third party, who sat in the back seat; Turner was in the front passenger seat. When they arrived at SE 12th Terrace, they saw Hutchinson walking across the street, pulled over, and stopped.

According to the third party, Hutchinson handed Turner some marijuana, Turner asked how much the marijuana cost, and Hutchinson told him the price was $180. Turner began to speak to his wife, and then she put the car into gear and began to drive away, at which point Hutchinson allegedly fired a single gunshot at the vehicle. Turner’s wife drove the car to SE 3rd Terrace, where officers found the victim.

Both the third party and Turner’s wife told officers they had guns in their vehicle, but they denied that Turner pulled a gun on Hutchinson. The third party told officers it seemed like Turner had planned to drive away without paying from the marijuana. The third party showed officers his text message history, showing that he set up the deal, and positively identified a photo of Hutchinson as the person who shot Turner.

Turner’s wife did not know Hutchinson but saw him briefly during the transaction. She was unable to positively identify Hutchinson in a photo line-up.

Another witness who lives in Hutchinson’s home said he was at home just prior to the shooting, then left and returned just after the time of the shooting. Hutchinson lives on the street where the shooting took place but denied shooting Turner or being in the neighborhood at the time of the shooting.

GPD asks anyone who has additional information about this incident to contact GPD Detective Mullins at 352-393-7619. You can also remain anonymous by contacting Alachua Crime Stoppers at 352-372-7867 or https://www.stopcrime.tv/. This remains an ongoing investigation.