Owen Cosme Sentenced to Life in Prison for Four Murders

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that the Honorable Jeb Branham sentenced Owen Cosme to four life sentences in Florida State Prison for three counts of Second-Degree Murder with a Weapon; Armed Burglary with Assault or Battery; and Conspiracy to Commit Armed Robbery for a 2021 triple murder. In a separate case, Cosme was sentenced to a concurrent 25 years in Florida State Prison for one count of Second-Degree Murder for a 2020 deadly shooting. Cosme previously pleaded guilty to all charges on March 27, 2025.

On Feb. 8, 2021, patrol officers were in the Moncrief neighborhood of Jacksonville when gunshots rang out. Shortly after, officers saw a person driving erratically from the scene and attempted a traffic stop. The driver sped off and led the police on a high-speed chase which ended in arrests of Cosme and co-defendants. The investigation revealed Cosme and several others asked a friend for a ride to a Moncrief apartment complex with the plan to commit an armed robbery. Armed with weapons, he knocked on the door of the apartment. When one of the victims opened the door, Cosme fired more than 20 rounds shooting and killing three people inside. Detectives collected 40-caliber casings from the scene.

The casings were processed through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) and matched an unsolved homicide from July 23, 2020, where a victim was shot more than 20 times and killed outside his apartment. Cosme and the victim knew each other and were at odds over custody issues; the victim was the maternal uncle of Cosme’s child.

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