Palm Bay man arrested in attempted murder of Vero Beach ‘friend’
By Debbie Carson, Online Editor
GIFFORD – Weeks after a robbery turned into an attempted murder case between so-called friends, the U.S. Marshals Service has arrested the shooter.
On Thursday, authorities caught up with and arrested Jarrod Lee Walker-Turner, 24, of Palm Bay, accusing him of shooting a Vero Beach man in Gifford in July.
According to the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, Walker-Turner held up James Killings Jr. in front of Four Brothers Grocery shortly after 9 p.m. on July 21. Killings was shot in the upper right area of his chest during a struggle over the gun Walker-Turner had pulled on him, according to the arrest report.
After recovering a day at Holmes Regional Medical Center, Killings told investigators that Walker-Turner had at one time been a friend of his and that the man approached him in front of the grocery store.
Killings told Detective Steve Stolle with the Sheriff’s Office, that the defendant pulled a gun on him and told him to “give it up.” Killings also said that he gave Walker-Turner between $600 and $700 from his pants pocket.
But that was when the robbery went south, according to what Killings told authorities. He said that Walker-Turner told him to turn around, which he refused to do because he knew that Walker-Turner would shoot him in the back if he turned around.
At that time, Killings took a chance and rushed Walker-Turner and grabbed at the gun. The arrest report stated that the gun went off during the struggle, striking Killings in the chest.
Walker-Turner is currently being held at the Indian River County Jail on $500,000, facing charges that include felony attempted murder and felony robbery armed with a deadly weapon.
