EUSTIS, Florida—The teenager wanted for shooting two people last week near a Eustis private school has been arrested.
Jaques J. Jenkins, 19, was wanted for shooting two people at the corner of Old Mount Dora Road and Grove Street shortly before 4 p.m. Sept. 7. The shots were fired at the stop sign near Faith Lutheran Church, which houses a private school and daycare. The school day had just ended less than 30 minutes before the shooting and the daycare was still open, according to a report.
Jenkins, who was driving a black Hyundai Elantra, fled east down Old Mount Dora Road and the victims fled to nearby Lake Hills Plaza in their maroon SUV. The two victims, whose names are not being released due to Marsy’s Law, got out of the SUV near RaceTrac, 2850 South Bay Street, and began yelling for help; a good Samaritan transported the pair to the AdventHealth Waterman, which was placed on lockdown. Both victims, a male and a female, suffered gunshot wounds to their elbows.
The male victim told Eustis Police Department detectives there was an ongoing dispute between him and several members of GPG, Third World and 1DK and he believes Jenkins is a member of one of the gangs. The victim said he bought marijuana from Jenkins about 18 months ago and Jenkins also tried to sell him a gun. Around two months ago, gang members began to harass the male victim for unknown reasons and Jenkins showed him a gun in his waistband as the victim walked up to his apartment. Around the same time, the victim’s apartment was broken into, and a gun, cash and marijuana were stolen. About a week after the burglary, Jenkins and his associates began trash talking the victim on Instagram, according to the report.
Earlier this month, Jenkins chased the victim around Eustis after spotting him at a store on Palmetto Street. Video surveillance from near the store showed Jenkins driving the black Hyundai and both shooting victims identified the car in the video as the car involved in the shooting and identified Jenkins as the man who shot them, in a photo lineup.
Jenks was arrested in December 2021 for possession of a concealed firearm and possession of drug paraphernalia; those charges were dropped in January. In February, Jenkins was arrested again for battery and resisting an officer without violence. He was sentenced to one year of probation just last month.
In this case, Jenkins is facing a slew of charges, including two counts of attempted second degree murder, shooting a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and discharging a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. He is also facing two counts of violation of probation and is being held on no bond.
