St. Johns County man indicted on first-degree murder charge in downtown Jacksonville shooting

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two young St. Johns County men accused in connection with the shooting death of a man in downtown Jacksonville in May have been indicted.

Ryan Nichols, who was 19 years old at the time of his arrest, was charged with first-degree murder while Daniel DeGuardia, 18, was charged with accessory after the fact.

MORE: St. Johns County 19-year-old, 2 others accused in connection with downtown Jacksonville murder

Earlier this month, a third man Holden Dodson, 21, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact.

All three men are charged in connection with the death of Gary Jackson.

According to an arrest report, Jackson was found shot dead behind a dumpster on West Ashley Street on May 2.

Detectives with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said they found multiple shell casings and an extended magazine with rounds still in it lying next to him.

JSO said surveillance footage from businesses nearby captured the incident.

A man who was chasing Jackson is seen holding what appears to be a handgun, with an extended magazine. Jackson appears to hide behind the dumpster the handgun is raised and multiple muzzle flashes are seen.

The man searches Jackson and then gets into a Jeep Grand Cherokee that was seen following the two men.

The arrest report said the Jeep then drove to a nearby 7-Eleven and Dodson entered the store.

Police said the vehicle was driven by DeGuardia and that Nichols matched the physical appearance of the person holding the gun and chasing the victim in the surveillance video.

News4JAX spoke with witnesses who saw Jackson and the three men who have been charged interacting before the shooting and thought it might have involved drugs.

“He took off with their pistol because one of the guys showed him his pistol and was waving it around,” a witness told News4JAX.

That detail was also in the arrest report when Dodson told detectives that Nichols’s gun was taken. Dodson went on to tell investigators that Nichols then took his gun and used that in the shooting, police said.

Although all three men are now charged, when it comes to Nichols, the state has 45 days to decide whether or not to seek the death penalty.

Nichols and DeGuardia are expected to be arraigned on Aug. 16.