Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Police make quick arrest in ‘voodoo’ killing
MIRAMAR — It only took about 12 hours to make an arrest following the discovery of a man’s body in a gated community in Miramar and detectives believe the motive for the killing was “voodoo.”
Additionally, the suspect in the case texted the victim, saying he was going to kill him, according to detectives.
Najay Marcellos Jackson, 19, of Hollywood, was taken into custody about 9 p.m. Wednesday and charged with murder after the body of a man in his early 20s was found behind some town homes in the Village Walk community.
A resident in the 8900 block of Southwest 19th Street heard several gunshots about 9 a.m. and called police, said spokeswoman Tania Rues.
“We had [surveillance] video of the suspect in less than an hour and we identified him a few hours later,” she said. “He was arrested that evening.”
The video showed Jackson riding a bicycle into the neighborhood and waving his arms to get the victim’s attention, an arrest report said. The two appeared to talk for a moment before going behind a townhouse and then the video shows Jackson riding away.
The identity of the man who was killed has not been released. He was shot in the head, police said.
“Detectives believe the motive for the murder was that Jackson thought the victim placed a voodoo curse on him,” said Rues.
According to the arrest report, detectives were able to identify the victim and then contact two of his friends. The friends recognized Jackson from the surveillance video.
Detectives staked out a home in the 7100 block of Pershing Street in Hollywood and saw Jackson leave wearing the same red sandals and riding the same red mountain bike seen in the video. He was stopped and arrested in the 6900 block of Charleston Street.
Detectives also talked to Jackson’s mother who confirmed the bicycle rider in the surveillance video was her son. She also confirmed his cellphone number which police used to track calls and text messages.
One text at 6:47 a.m. Wednesday was sent from Jackson’s phone to the victim and read, “Yuh dead today.” At 8:20 a.m., Jackson texted “Sliding to u,” and another at 8:45 a.m. that read “Slide to the gate,” to which the victim replied “’Ight.” [all right]
Hollywood police handed Jackson over to Miramar police who booked him into the Broward County Jail where he was being held without bond on a murder charge, records show.