Garvin Owensby Jr, a 42-year-old tattoo artist recently returned to Jacksonville from Virginia, was shot dead inside a home on West 1st Street on February 17, 2019. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office found Owensby deceased and his girlfriend critically wounded with a gunshot to the neck when officers responded about 8:40 a.m. The girlfriend was able to provide some information before being taken to the hospital and later survived after playing dead until the shooter fled in her car.

Owensby and his girlfriend were living in the house with their roommate, 37-year-old Charles James Crosby. According to the investigation, Crosby became fixated on a gun while Owensby and Crosby were reportedly playing chess; as Owensby and his girlfriend were preparing to leave, Crosby shot Owensby in the head. Crosby was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, and possession of a firearm by a felon; he was booked into the Duval County jail and held without bond.

The killing drew attention to gun violence in the community and prompted investigators to ask the public for information. If anyone knew Garvin Owensby Jr or has information about the shooting on West 1st Street, please come forward.