FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Chapman
Phone: (904) 255-3004
Cell: (904) 524-6626
ChapmanD@coj.net
May 23, 2024
JURY FINDS GIST GUILTY OF MURDERING MAN, WOMAN DURING DRUG DEAL
State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Raishion Gist guilty of two counts of First-Degree Murder and two counts of Armed Burglary with Assault or Battery. With the verdict, Gist faces a mandatory life sentence in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Jonathan Sacks will sentence Gist at a later date.
Around 9 p.m. June 20, 2022, a man and a woman were shot to death next to an ATM on Bowden Road. Nearby surveillance footage shows Gist running from their car, turning back around, stealing a red bag from the car, and then fleeing the scene for good. Officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and Jacksonville Fire and Rescue pronounced the 21-year-old male victim deceased. The 20-year-old female victim was taken to the hospital where she was also pronounced deceased. Witnesses were in the parking lot during the time of the shooting and described Gist to police. The male victim’s phone was confiscated as evidence and, during the investigation, detectives found text messages where Gist asked the victim for drugs. Following that conversation, detectives uncovered a thread of Instagram messages and video calls between the victim and Gist to buy drugs. The male victim was driving the car, and the female victim was in the front passenger seat when they picked up Gist at Victoria Park Road and drove to the ATM on Bowden Road. The investigation revealed Gist shot the victims from the backseat of the car within seconds of them arriving at the ATM. Detectives discovered on the day after the murder, Gist gave the victim’s gun to a criminal associate to pay off a debt. When Gist was ultimately arrested, the firearm used in the murder was recovered and matched the shell casings found in the victim’s vehicle.
The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Joe Licandro and Jalisa Curtis.