PANAMA CITY — A Panama City teen is the latest casualty in a wave of gun violence that has claimed four lives in less than a month.
Panama City Police released a brief report that identifies the victim as 19-year-old Jshun Smith, who lived at 712 Maple Ave. in Panama City. Police did not respond to several calls seeking information Monday, but the report says the case is under investigation.
According to the report:
Police were called around 3:20 a.m. Monday and found Smith at the intersection of 10th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Smith was taken to the hospital. He did not survive.
It’s not clear if police have arrested anyone in connection to Smith’s death. The Panama City Police Department will often, but not always, make an announcement when they make an arrest in a homicide investigation.
Smith is the fourth man to be shot and killed in Panama City since late May.
Xavier Buckler, 23, and Marqueze McGhee, 25, both of Panama City, were shot and killed at a Millville gas station on May 24, and 26-year-old Dalrico Franklin was shot in the leg but survived. Police have not announced any arrests in the case.
Leonard Price, 38, of Panama City, was shot at close range in the yard of a Carver Road home. Police have arrested 28-year-old Michael Davis and charged him with murder.
Davis, who lives within walking distance of Carver Road on East 13th Street, said he is innocent. He was arrested in December 2013 for allegedly lying to Panama City Police detectives investigating the shooting death of Wilbert Faison, 56, on Christmas morning in the street outside Davis’ house.
On Friday, police in Marion County arrested 32-year-old Stephen Trusty and charged him with murder in Faison’s death. He had previously lived at Davis’ address, and detectives described him as a person of interest but released him without charges at the time.