Duval County Jury Finds Burney Guilty of Second-Degree Murder

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Antonious Burney Jr. guilty of Second-Degree Murder with Discharge of a Firearm Causing Death. With the verdict, Burney faces a mandatory minimum 25-year sentence and up to life in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Kevin Blazs will sentence Burney on May 10, 2024.

On March 29, 2019, officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office were notified of the body of a 61-year-old transient man found on the railroad tracks near Cleveland Road. The victim was found deceased with multiple gunshot wounds including one to the head and one to the face. Several 9mm shell casings were recovered from the scene. Detectives approached several people believed to have information about the murder. Ultimately, they learned Burney was known to carry a firearm consistent with the make that fired the casings found at the scene and several people informed detectives that Burney confessed to the murder. Detectives obtained a search warrant for Burney’s home and found a damaged barrel and slide of a handgun. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement analyzed the barrel and slide and determined the casings from the scene and projectiles pulled from the victim were fired from the barrel and slide. 

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