Man on pre-trial release arrested for shooting owner of Value Lodge

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Travis Jarrod McKenney, 36, was arrested yesterday and charged with attempted first-degree murder after allegedly shooting the owner of the Value Lodge on SW 13th Street.

Gainesville Police Department officers responded to the Value Lodge at 2000 SW 13th Street at about 11:05 a.m. yesterday and found the victim, the owner of the Value Lodge, in the parking lot with a gunshot wound in his leg.

Witnesses gave officers a description of the shooter, and after McKenney was detained, the witnesses positively identified him as the shooter. Witnesses also said McKenney had been drinking all morning and had been belligerent and loud outside his room.

McKenney reportedly made spontaneous statements that he had shot in self-defense.

The victim reportedly told officers that he had received a phone call that McKenney was arguing in the parking lot, so he drove to the motel and asked him to leave. He said McKenney started arguing with him, then went to his room, came back with a gun, and began firing at him. The victim said he did not have a gun and did not reach for anything before McKenney shot at him. The officer reported that no guns were found on the victim or in his car.

A witness said she tried to stop McKenney and got between him and the victim, but McKenney started shooting at the victim over her shoulder. She said she jumped out of the way, and McKenney fired more shots. The officer reported that the witness had a bullet hole in the shoulder of her shirt, but she was not hit. The witness also reportedly said that after he shot the victim, McKenney went back upstairs toward his room and fired another gunshot in an unknown direction from the balcony.

The officer noted that McKenney lives in a room with the two mothers of his children and his seven children. The officer also noted that a handgun could be seen in plain view through the open door of the room.

Post Miranda, McKenney reportedly said that he and the victim had gotten into an argument in the parking lot before he went to his room to “cool off.” He said that on his way up the stairs, he yelled, “I will knock you out” toward the victim and that while he was in the room, he picked up a gun because he knows the victim carries a gun. However, the officer reported that McKenney also said he did not know the victim.

McKenney reportedly said that after picking up the gun, he went back down to the parking lot to speak with the victim and that the victim had used a racial epithet. He said he saw the victim reach for his waistband and believed he was reaching for a gun, so he took out his gun and fired at the victim approximately four times. He admitted he never saw the victim with a weapon and that the shooting could have been avoided if he had stayed in his room.

The officer reported that the shooting was captured on video surveillance cameras; the video reportedly shows the victim standing still while the witness tries to pull McKenney away. The victim did not appear to move until after he was shot at. As the witness tried to pull McKenney away, he took out a gun and fired it. The victim continued to stand still until McKenney shot again; the second set of gunshots grazed his left leg and penetrated his right leg.

McKenney’s address is listed as Opa Locka, but court documents show he has been in the area for about three years. He has two misdemeanor convictions (one violent – a 2021 disorderly conduct charge). He was arrested on August 18 and charged with crack cocaine possession and resisting an officer; Judge Susan Miller-Jones released him on his own recognizance for alcohol abuse treatment and required him to submit 15 job applications a week until he gets a job. Court documents filed today indicate that he is still unemployed.

Judge Thomas Jaworski ordered McKenney held on $2 million bail and ordered the State Attorney’s Office to contact the Department of Children and Families on behalf of the seven children living in a motel room.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.