Jessie Woullard, 45, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Fast Stop convenience store at 820 E. Memorial Blvd. in Lakeland on May 1, 2025. Lakeland police responded to reports of gunfire at about 4:52 a.m. and found Woullard inside his vehicle with gunshot wounds; he was taken to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center and pronounced dead.

A 59-year-old man named Ricardo Zelidon was found at the scene behind his vehicle with his hands raised. Witnesses and evidence indicate Zelidon had been waiting at the store for several minutes, blocked Woullard’s car from leaving by positioning his vehicle behind it, and then approached Woullard wearing a ballistic vest. After a brief argument Zelidon opened the driver’s side door and shot Woullard twice. Investigators say Zelidon had hired Woullard a few weeks earlier and believed a firearm had been stolen from his home, a reported motive for the shooting. Zelidon was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and the investigation remains active.

Did anyone in Lakeland see either man at the Fast Stop that morning or have information about the earlier work arrangement between them?