Duval County Jury Finds Benner Guilty of Four Attempted Murders

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Davonte Benner guilty of four counts of Attempted Second-Degree Murder. With the verdict, Benner faces up to four sentences of 30 years in Florida State Prison. The Honorable London Kite will sentence Benner at a later date.

On July 31, 2022, patrol officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to Gullege Drive after gunshots were fired. While they canvassed the scene, a white sedan carrying four people, including a juvenile male suffering from a gunshot wound to the neck, arrived at Baptist North Hospital. The car had bullet holes shot through it. Police found shell casings at the crime scene and surveillance footage from a nearby building which captured some of the incident. The footage showed the white car turn on to Gullege Drive toward where the crime took place. A gold SUV also in the vicinity, and then two men in ski masks carrying firearms ran from where the gold SUV was toward the direction of the white car. One of the men held a rifle and the other kept his hand in his jacket’s front pocket. A third man stood nearby as a lookout. Thirty seconds later, the men sprint from the area where the shooting took place back in the direction of the gold SUV. The investigation revealed additional surveillance footage from a convenience store where the gold SUV parked shortly after the shooting. Benner and co- defendants are seen inside the store wearing the same clothing as the men wearing the ski masks. Benner is a documented gang member.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Trey Atkinson and Shaina Ruth.