Lakeland men wanted in shooting that left 3-year-old boy dead: Police Chief

LAKELAND, Fla. - Days after a Lakeland shooting that left a 3-year-old boy dead, a search is underway for two men investigators believe were involved. 

Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor held a news conference Thursday, three days after the tragic shooting that killed Jaquez "JD" Norton. He was in the backseat of a Rav 4 where he got caught in the crossfire. A passenger, the boyfriend of JD's mom, in the Rav 4 was also shot and is now recovering in the hospital. 

Officials also said Kemarius Wilson, 22, was shot during the incident and later died at the hospital after he was taken there by another private vehicle. He was a passenger in a Dodge Challenger who got out with a handgun with another suspect, who has now been identified by police as 30-year-old Kevarius Green.

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The shooting unfolded Monday evening when the 3-year-old, along with his mom, 3-month-old sister and the mom's 23-year-old boyfriend, were coming out of the Cambridge Cove apartment complex after visiting a friend. They got into the Rav 4 when the Dodge Challenger blocked them from leaving. 

Pictured: Jaquez "JD" Norton.

Green and Kemarius Wilson got out of the Challenger, and police said Green was holding a rifle while Kemarius was holding a handgun. They approached the Rav 4 and shots were fired. The mother fled the Rav 4 with the 3-month-old, and both were uninjured, according to police. 

The boyfriend was armed and fired shots back, according to authorities. 

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Police said that once Green started shooting through the windshield of the Rav 4, Kemarius ran from the back of the vehicle, around a parked car and ran back to the Challenger.

"It’s incredibly dangerous, what these guys were doing," Taylor said. "They put a lot of people in danger and a lot of people at risk. That’s why we very much want to get them off the street as quickly as we can."

Pictured: Challenger that was involved in shooting. 

The suspects got back in the Challenger's passenger side before the driver fled the scene. Lakeland police said they ended up in the 800 block of West 14th Street where Kemarius was put in another vehicle and driven to the hospital where he died. 

Taylor said Thursday that detectives have continued to investigate the case since, and the medical examiner determined Kemarius and the 3-year-old were both shot and killed by the rifle Green used during the shooting.

Courtesy: Lakeland Police Department. 

The Lakeland police chief also said investigators now believe they aren't just looking for Green, but a third suspect too: Kemarius' brother, 22-year-old Demarius Wilson. 

The police chief said detectives believe Demarius was the one driving the Challenger when the shooting happened. He was seen in the vehicle before and shortly after the shooting as well as at the home on West 14th Street. He was also seen running from the Challenger after it was hidden along West Crawford Street.

Courtesy: Lakeland Police Department. 

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Arrest warrants have been obtained for both Demarius Wilson and Green, who are both still on the run. 

"Someone knows where they are, and you may have a piece of information that you don’t think is important, but we would very much like for you to call us anyways, because it probably is vitally important," Taylor said.

Green is wanted on two counts of first-degree murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. 

Demarius Wilson is wanted for tampering with evidence, and investigators said he is also on a federal pre-trial release for wire fraud involving the Paycheck Protection Program. 

Anyone with information on the location of these two men are asked to contact Detective Corey Lawson with the Lakeland Police Department by emailing cory.lawson@lakelandgov.net or by calling (863) 834-8975. 

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