Jury Finds Rice Guilty of Attempted Murder, Carjacking

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Raymond Rice Jr. guilty of Attempted First-Degree Murder; Carjacking (Armed with Weapon); Armed Burglary; and Possession of a Weapon by a Convicted Felon. With the verdict, Rice faces up to life in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Jeb Branham will sentence Rice at a later date.

On June 10, 2023, the victim was inside his parked car underneath the Interstate-95 overpass on College Street eating lunch. As he got out of his car, Rice came up from behind. Rice attacked the victim with a knife, and the victim fell to the ground. Rice stabbed the victim in the neck, stole the victim’s car, and drove off. The victim stumbled to a nearby park to get help and collapsed from his injuries; he was taken to the hospital for treatment. The victim’s phone and wallet were inside the car when Rice stole it. The car was listed as a stolen vehicle in the National Crime Information Center database. On June 11, a person in Georgia found the victim’s phone on the side of the highway and communicated with the victim’s family to return it to him. The victim’s car was found a few days later in Savannah, Georgia. Rice’s family identified Rice as the attacker from surveillance photos, and the victim positively identified Rice in a lineup of photos. Rice was on the run until Nov. 11, 2025, when he was taken into custody in Jackson, New Jersey.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Ross Wade and Trinity Turinetti.