Suspect linked to years-long local feud
DELRAY BEACH — City police have made one arrest and are close to a second in a shooting incident that left a baby injured and a Delray Beach neighborhood in fear Monday afternoon.
The two men are connected to a years-old feud between two local families that has resulted in dozens of shootings and five deaths police said.
Jashaun Demetrius Harper, 19, of Delray Beach, is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without bail and is facing an attempted first-degree murder charge in Monday’s shooting.
The second person wanted by law enforcement is a 22-year-old Delray Beach man, according to an arrest report. An arrest warrant has been issued for the man, and he is being sought by the U.S. Marshals Service.
“I’m hoping by the time I go to sleep tonight, they’ll both be in custody,” Lt. Scott Privitera said Thursday. There was no report of an arrest Friday.
Harper was driving a stolen Volkswagen Jetta with the second man in the passenger seat Monday when they allegedly fired gunshots into a Honda Accord at the intersection of Northwest Third Street and Northwest 10th Avenue, according to Harper’s arrest report.
One bullet struck a 27-yearold man in the shoulder.
Harper followed the Accord southbound along Northwest and Southwest 10th avenues for five blocks while the gunfire continued. The Accord crashed into a tree, causing a baby in the vehicle to sustain minor cuts and injuries, police said.
At least six bullet holes were found in the Accord, and the arrest report indicates a rifle was used.
The violence caused S.D. Spady Elementary School on Northwest Third Street to be placed on lockdown.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrested Harper on unrelated charges Tuesday.
“Very violent, very relentless,” Privitera said of Harper and his unnamed accomplice. “These guys have been among our biggest problems.”
Police believe Harper and the second man also were involved in a drive-by shooting Sept. 24 that left a 25-year-old man with “life-altering injuries.” The injured man was a bystander, police said.
Records show that in November 2016 at age 17, Harper was convicted as an adult on charges including two counts of motor vehicle theft. He was sentenced to two years in jail and was released June 25, 2018.
Assistant Police Chief Mary Olsen said the arrests of Harper and his alleged accomplice will “eliminate some of the most violent individuals” in the family feud from further menacing the community.
Monday’s shooting, police said, is the latest in a feud between the James and Johnson families and their associates that has included nearly 50 shootings since police began tracking the violence between the two sides in May 2014.
A dispute at a club involving a woman is said to have started the violence between the families.
Detectives said they received a break in Monday’s shooting after a witness who had previously chosen not to cooperate with law enforcement changed his mind. Police have blamed a lack of cooperation from community members for a lack of progress in solving those shootings and homicides.
As an example, Privitera referred to a shooting in July that left a 10-year-old boy with a gunshot to the leg.
Police said the bullet, intended for two men outside the home, narrowly missed the boy’s femoral artery. Despite the close call, Olsen said detectives received no cooperation from the owner of the home where the boy was shot.
When police asked for the home’s security cameras, the man refused, Privitera said. A search warrant carried out by a SWAT team allowed police to take the cameras, but a search found someone had removed the devices’ hard drives.
Olsen said she hopes cooperation from Monday’s witness will encourage other “people who have been reluctant to open up, to speak to us.”
Aside from attempted first-degree murder, Harper also faces a charge of motor vehicle theft. He is facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and larceny between $20,000 and $100,000 in two other cases.
Police met Thursday at City Hall with parents of students at S.D. Spady Elementary, which went on a codered lockdown after the shooting incident.
Olsen told the parents she understood their concern, but added their children were never in danger.
Olsen added that all elementary schools in the city have a police officer patrolling the campus this school year for the first time. In the past, one officer split time between several elementary schools, she said.
“Security is 10 times better than it’s ever been,” Olsen said.