Tolbert Found Guilty of Attempted Second-Degree Murder

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that Donald Tolbert was found guilty by a jury of Attempted Second-Degree Murder and Tampering with Evidence. The Honorable London Kite sentenced Tolbert to 25 years in Florida State Prison during a Sept. 19, 2022, hearing.

On Jan. 31, 2021, members of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a Northside apartment after receiving a call about a shooting. When they arrived, officers talked to the victim, who sustained gunshot wounds to his right arm and left leg. The victim was transported to UF Health by Jacksonville Fire and Rescue. Tolbert and the victim had previous arguments about the victim’s contact with Tolbert’s child. On that day, however, it escalated after Tolbert shot the victim as he retrieved some items from the trunk of his car. Tolbert then fled the scene in another car and threw the gun in a pond off St. Augustine Road. Police were able to contact and arrest Tolbert.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office with the assistance of Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Rachel England and Brittany Johnson.