FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: David Chapman
Phone: (904) 255-3004
Cell: (904) 524-6626
ChapmanD@coj.net
February 2, 2024
DUVAL COUNTY JURY FINDS ZOUITNI GUILTY OF ATTEMPTED MURDER
State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Kevin Zouitni guilty of two counts of Attempted Second-Degree Murder; Shooting or Throwing Deadly Missiles; and Discharging Firearm from a Vehicle. With the verdict, Zouitni faces up to 90 years in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Jonathan Sacks will sentence Zouitni at a later date.
Just after 2 a.m. Aug. 22, 2021, officers with Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to shots fired outside a night club on Beach and Southside boulevards. Surveillance cameras show Zouitni leaving the club as it was closing, talking with a man, and then getting into the driver’s seat of a pickup truck. The other man got into a black four-door Mercedes. Zouitni rolled down his window and pointed a firearm at the man sitting inside his car. Zouitni then drove in front of the Mercedes and shot several rounds at the Mercedes. Another man in the parking lot fired back. Zouitni began driving while still firing his weapon. His gunfire struck several vehicles, one of which had two people inside.
Around 11:30 p.m. later that day, officers responded to a report of shots fired on Interstate 295. The 911 caller was Zouitni, who claimed he was shot at while driving on the highway. Officers arrested him for the nightclub shooting and took him to the police station for questioning. Zouitni admitted his 911 call was a false report and gave officers permission to search his home. Inside Zouitni’s residence, officers seized several handguns and entered them into evidence. One of the handguns was the weapon used during the nightclub shooting.
The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Marcus Isom Jr. and Brittany Johnson.