CCSO recover five firearms, recover stolen car at mall
ORANGE PARK – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office recovered two rifles, three handguns and more than 100 rounds of ammunition after three men from Jacksonville spotted in a car that was reported stolen on Oct. 18.
According to the arrest report, Jacoby James Beals, 18, and Jaquan Cortez Scott, 20, tried to escape after hiding in the stolen car at the Orange Park Mall near the AMC Theater on Nov. 23. The deputy was alerted the car was reported stolen from Jacksonville by his license plate reader. When deputies approached the car, three men tried to run, but Beals and Scott were apprehended.
After the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office was notified the car had been recovered. CCSO conducted an inventory and found the guns and ammunition. All of the guns were loaded, according to the arrest report and Scott was wearing Latex gloves.
A third suspect remained at large, CCSO said.
Both Beals and Scott were charged with armed trespassing, carrying a concealed unlicensed firearm and resisting arrest. Beals bond was set at $80,008, while Scott’s bond was set at $40,008.

Man charged three years after a man was shot during drug buy

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – An Orange Park man is behind bars nearly three years after a man was shot in the shoulder during a botched drug buy.
Eddie Fredrick Griffin, 22, of Middleburg, was charged with armed robbery, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Deputies didn’t have to go far because they arrested him the moment he was released after serving time for another crime.
According to the affidavit for an arrest warrant, two men drove to Parkwood Drive in Orange Park on Oct. 17, 2019, after setting up a meeting on Snapchat to buy marijuana from two other men. When the victims arrived, one of the men told them it was a robbery. The victim, who was sitting in the back seat, was struck after the two sellers opened fire on the car, emptying the pistol magazine.
The victim described one of the shooters, and it matched Griffin. When investigators arrived at Griffin’s home, they noticed a man, Travis Jackson, exit to a bedroom and close his door. A check revealed Jackson was on probation, so investigators contacted his parole officer to track his ankle monitor movements on the day of the robbery. The GPS showed Jackson was at the scene where deputies recovered spent shell casings at the scene.
A subsequent search uncovered two handguns hidden in an air handler closet. One of the guns was matched to the shell casings at the scene. Jackson then identified Griffin as the accomplice.
Griffin was jailed for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and was released on Nov. 22. He was arrested shortly after his release for the robbery and shooting.
Griffin is back in the Clay County Jail with a $300,009 bond.

Passed out woman charged with DUI, possession of drugs
ORANGE PARK – A woman found slumped in the driver’s seat in a grocery store parking lot was arrested on Nov. 23 for driving under the influence and for being in possession of illegal drugs.
Ashlee Eckert Mosher, 39, of Middleburg, was charged with possession of Clonazepam, fentanyl, cocaine, drug paraphernalia, concealed weapon and DUI after deputies arrived to the store on Blanding Boulevard at 8:51 a.m. A witness said she saw Mosher drive from one parking spot to another before passing out in the car.
While she was being booked into the Clay County Jail, detention officers uncovered a baggie containing 1.28 grams of cocaine. Mosher’s bond was set at $60,012.

Man caught with burglary
tools commonly used to
take catalytic converters
ORANGE PARK – Deputies responding to a robbery in progress at North Florida Sales used an immediate description of a suspect to quickly track him down.
Chase Alan Scheider, 35, of Glen St. Mary, was charged with grand theft, driving with a suspended license, possession of burglary tools and providing a false name or ID to law enforcement after a deputy followed Scheider’s truck to the intersection of Blairmore Boulevard and Valderia Drive on Nov. 23. Deputies then found law blades commonly used to cut catalytic converters from engines.
A passenger, Ashley Marie Pitts, 33, of Jacksonville, also was charged with possession of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia. Scheider bond was set at $55,761, while Pitts’ bond was set at $35,005.

Sting leads to arrest of man
using computer to lure child
JACKSONVILLE – The Clay County Sheriff’s Office sting operation led to the arrest of a man who used his computer to try to exploit a child.
Terry Dean McDonald, 46, was charged with using a computer to solicit or seduce a child, transmitting harmful material to a minor and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony after agency’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit struck an online conversation with McDonald between June 9 and June 12, according to a heavily-redacted affidavit for arrest report. McDonald’s bond was set at $200,009.