Two men charged with first-degree attempted murder in drive-by shooting

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Jacquez Xavier Hill, 18, and Terrex Montresso Thagard, Jr., 19, were arrested and charged with premeditated attempted murder in a drive-by shooting last night on NE 23rd Avenue.

At about 9:55 p.m., multiple calls were received about gunshots fired in the 1200 block of NE 23rd Avenue; a Gainesville Police Department (GPD) officer was in the area and also heard the gunshots. The officer found an unoccupied white Chevrolet sedan that was stopped with the engine running in the middle of the roadway. The officer saw multiple spent shell casings in plain sight on the front and rear driver’s side seats of the car, indicating that the shots were fired from inside the car.

A short time later, Hill and Thagard walked out from a dark area about a block away from the car; Hill walked up to an officer and reportedly said the sedan was his car and that it had broken down in the middle of the road. He said he heard gunshots at the same time the car broke down, so he got out of the car and ran. GPD determined that Hill is the registered owner of the car.

GPD K-9 Stern conducted an article search in the area where Hill and Thagard had emerged and found a .40-caliber handgun and a ski mask.

While officers were speaking with Hill and Thagard, they received information about a victim who had arrived at an emergency room with a gunshot wound in his upper leg. The victim reportedly said he was walking in the area of NE 12th Street and NE 23rd Avenue when the occupants of a white car started shooting at him. He said he was hit in the leg as he tried to run away. The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Post Miranda, Hill reportedly said he was driving south on NE 12th Street, approaching NE 23rd Avenue, at the time of the shooting. He initially said he and Thagard were the only occupants of the car but later said there was a third person in the rear driver’s-side seat. Hill reportedly said he was in the area to pick up money from his cousin, and after leaving his cousin’s house, he heard gunshots and ducked. He turned west onto NE 23rd Avenue, and his car died. He said he believed he was being shot at, so he and Thagard got out of the car and hid until officers arrived.

A presumptive gunshot residue test on Hill reportedly produced positive results.

Post Miranda, Thagard reportedly said he was in the front passenger seat of Hill’s car and that Hill had driven to the area to buy marijuana; Thagard said there was an unknown passenger in the back seat. Thagard reportedly said he had his Airpods in and was listening to music when he heard gunshots, so he ducked down and did not see anyone shooting. He said the car died, and he and Hill ran because they thought they were getting shot at.

A presumptive gunshot residue test on Thagard reportedly produced positive results.

Officers at the scene reportedly found one .40 caliber shell casing, one 9mm shell casing, and one unknown caliber shell casing on the ground around the car. Officers also found two spent shell casings in the front seat of the car and one in the back seat of the car; the calibers of those shell casings were not provided. A search warrant has been requested for the car. No impact points or bullet holes were reportedly found on the exterior of the car.

The defendants have no criminal history; Judge Walter Green set bail at $500,000 for each of them.

This shooting appears to be related to the shooting that occurred the previous evening. GPD is asking that anyone with information on either of the two shootings contact Detective Stephen Dose at 352-393-7682 or Crime Stoppers at 352-372-7867.

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.