Jontae Keith Merritt, 26, of Hastings, Florida, was shot to death on November 29, 2020, at a home on Belmont Drive in the Rolling Hills neighborhood of Palatka. Investigators say Merritt was allegedly lured to the house with another man, William Bartley, where Sean Kemp and Bartley shot Merritt multiple times until their guns were empty. The shooting was reportedly connected to the murder of the suspects’ friend, Shaquille Brown, killed the day before; Kemp and Bartley allegedly believed Merritt was responsible and sought revenge.

Crime scene reconstruction and forensic analysis reportedly contradicted Kemp and Bartley’s claim that Merritt charged them with a knife. Blood spatter patterns and cartridge casing locations did not support that version, and the knife found near Merritt had no traces of blood. Sean Kemp was arrested and charged with premeditated first-degree murder; William Bartley had not been arrested and booked into the Putnam County Jail at the time of the report.

Does anyone have information about Merritt, the location on Belmont Drive, or the events of late November 2020 that could help clarify what happened?