20-year-old arrested in double homicide at Jacksonville ATM; victims' mothers see him in court

Dan Scanlan, Florida Times-Union
·4 min read

When Terri Barnes planted a memorial cross with flowers on July 11 next to the Bowden Road ATM where son Jamarion Barnes and girlfriend Tyniya Powell were gunned down on June 20, she said she had a feeling police had an idea who killed them.

That intuition foreshadowed the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office's announcement Wednesday night that 20-year-old Raishion Gist was arrested on two counts of murder. Barnes was in court the next morning when he made his first appearance.

Watching as Gist sat in a jail jumpsuit, Barnes said she "got the chills."

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"We were relieved to know that he was finally arrested," she said after the hearing. "He can sit and think about what he has done to his life and how he has affected our whole family's life, as well as Tyniya's. I was sitting next to her mother in the courtroom."

Powell's family could not be reached for comment on the arrest. Powell was 20 and Barnes 21.

Terri Barnes places a cross, flowers and lights on July 11 at the ATM on Bowden Road where her son Jamarion Barnes, 21, and girlfriend Tyniya Powell, 20, were gunned down in late June.
Terri Barnes places a cross, flowers and lights on July 11 at the ATM on Bowden Road where her son Jamarion Barnes, 21, and girlfriend Tyniya Powell, 20, were gunned down in late June.

Police released few details of what led up to Gist's arrest, only saying that evidence and tips from the community helped detectives identify a suspect who was arrested with the help of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.

Jacksonville's MAD DADS community outreach coordinator A.J. Jordan said a tip it received and passed on to investigators "played a part in his arrest." MAD DADS, which stands for Men Against Destruction Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder, helped arrange a memorial for Jamarion Barnes and Powell just days after their deaths at the ATM.

Powell
Powell

Couple killed, video surfaces

Surveillance video shot at 9:18 that night from across the ATM at Bowden and Spring Park roads show the last moments when the young man and woman parked their Toyota Corolla next to it.

Secured by Times-Union partner First Coast News, the video shows a man in dark clothing getting out of the Toyota's back seat, opening the driver's door and grabbing something before walking away. He sprints back to shut the driver's door, reopening the back one before closing it and running away quickly as a minivan, then a car stop nearby.

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When officers arrived there about 10 minutes later, Barnes was found lying outside the driver's door and Powell on the ground next to the passenger side, according to the incident report.

No motive has been revealed. Terri Barnes said she does not know either but hopes to hear more from investigators soon. She said she does not know Gist, but her son "may have."

His arrest report is very limited but lists drugs as being involved.

Terri Barnes' T-shirt memorializes both of her sons, Jamarion and Jelijah Barnes, shot and killed within three months of each other. Jamarion, left, and girlfriend Tyniya Powell were killed June 20 at a VyStar ATM at Bowden and Spring Park roads.
Terri Barnes' T-shirt memorializes both of her sons, Jamarion and Jelijah Barnes, shot and killed within three months of each other. Jamarion, left, and girlfriend Tyniya Powell were killed June 20 at a VyStar ATM at Bowden and Spring Park roads.

Two sons dead by violence

Jamarion Barnes, who had a 9-month-old daughter, is the second in his family to be killed this year.

His 20-year-old brother, Jelijah Barnes, was killed early on March 13 in the 7000 block of South Beekman Lake Drive, according to Times-Union records. Again police released very little about the circumstances, other than he was shot multiple times as he got out of his vehicle at a home. No arrests have been reported in that case.

The cross bears the names of Terri Barnes' son, Jamarion Barnes, killed in June on Bowden Road. It also bears the name of his 20-year-old brother, Jelijah Barnes, killed early March 13 on South Beekman Lake Drive
The cross bears the names of Terri Barnes' son, Jamarion Barnes, killed in June on Bowden Road. It also bears the name of his 20-year-old brother, Jelijah Barnes, killed early March 13 on South Beekman Lake Drive

Terri Barnes said she has been in regular contact with the homicide detective investigating Jamarion and Powell's deaths. She said she felt that police were close to an arrest, but were just waiting "for everything to be perfect because they had one shot."

Now she hopes her middle son's death has the same conclusion.

"Absolutely yes, hopefully within time they will figure out his," Barnes said. "His is a little bit more difficult than Jamarion's is. But there's no limitation on murder, so I feel one day his killer will be caught."

Gist
Gist

Gist has no prior arrests in Jacksonville and faces an Aug. 25 arraignment, according to Duval County jail records.

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Suspect, 20, is charged in couple's deaths at Jacksonville ATM