2 men plead not guilty in gang-related murder of Jacksonville 7-year-old
Dannel Larkins and Keith Johnson, two of the six people Action News Jax has told you were arrested in the gang-related murder of 7-year-old Breon Allen in January, are pleading not guilty to the charges against them.
Both men are facing murder and attempted murder charges, alongside Zharod Sykes and Keith Fields.
Action News Jax told you Friday when the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced the arrest of 17-year-olds Donte McGhee and Travaris Kelly, the two police say pulled the trigger on Breon Allen.
JSO says all six of the people arrested are members of the '6 Block' gang. Police say they shot and killed the 7-year-old as he was walking down the street with his cousin, Lafayette Mango Jr., a known gang member and the target of the shooting.
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Action News Jax's Finn Carlin spoke with First Coast CrimeStoppers, who says the tips it received from the community helped lead police to the arrests.
'We received a total of 22 tips in this case, the first coming, I believe, 24 hours after the crime originally happened,' Chase Robinson, executive director of First Coast CrimeStoppers, said.
Robinson tells Action News Jax that one of the tips through First Coast CrimeStoppers gave officers and detectives through JSO the information needed to arrest 17-year-olds McGhee and Kelly.
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'I do think because this is gang-related and we were able to arrest the two responsible for murdering Breon Allen, that this can serve as sort of a light for other cases and gang-related crimes,' Robinson said.
First Coast CrimeStoppers said the person who gave the tip leading police to the accused shooters is getting a $25,000 cash payout, similar to some of the other rewards it offers people who share tips.
Larkins and Johnson have trial dates set for September 3. The other four arrested in the murder, including the two 17-year-olds, are all expected to plead to the charges against them next week.
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