39-year-old man fatally shot in East Stuart; teen arrested

Will Greenlee, Treasure Coast Newspapers
·2 min read
Stuart Police investigate at an address in the 800 block of Southeast Spruce Avenue in East Stuart regarding a report made at 11:44 a.m. Monday, April 1, 2024, of a person who had been shot.
Stuart Police investigate at an address in the 800 block of Southeast Spruce Avenue in East Stuart regarding a report made at 11:44 a.m. Monday, April 1, 2024, of a person who had been shot.

STUART — Police arrested a 17-year-old boy in connection with the fatal shooting Monday of a 39-year-old man in the East Stuart area that investigators reported followed a verbal dispute.

Accused assailant Ro’Thonio Wilson, of the 900 block of Southeast Spruce Avenue, was found less than an hour after police went to the shooting in the 800 block of Southeast Spruce Avenue, according to Police Chief Joseph Tumminelli on Tuesday.

Ro’Thonio was arrested on a second-degree murder charge and taken to the juvenile detention center in Fort Pierce after being booked at the Martin County Jail, police stated. Second-degree indicates an intentional killing that was not planned.

The man fatally shot was identified as Jason Hibbert. Hibbert, 39, was flown to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce in critical condition, and was pronounced dead at 12:46 p.m. Monday.

Stuart Police investigate at an address in the 800 block of Southeast Spruce Avenue in East Stuart regarding a report made at 11:44 a.m. Monday, April 1, 2024, of a person who had been shot.
Stuart Police investigate at an address in the 800 block of Southeast Spruce Avenue in East Stuart regarding a report made at 11:44 a.m. Monday, April 1, 2024, of a person who had been shot.

“It seemed as though there was a verbal dispute between the two … which resulted in (Ro’Thonio) producing a firearm and shooting him,” Tumminelli said.

Police went to the scene about 11:44 a.m. Monday, and several hours later yellow police tape and investigators remained at the location.

Tumminelli said police got information from people in the neighborhood regarding the suspected shooter, and a Martin County Sheriff’s Office K9 tracked him to the address where Tumminelli said Ro’Thonio lives.

Stuart Police investigate at an address in the 800 block of Southeast Spruce Avenue in East Stuart regarding a report made at 11:44 a.m. Monday, April 1, 2024, of a person who had been shot.
Stuart Police investigate at an address in the 800 block of Southeast Spruce Avenue in East Stuart regarding a report made at 11:44 a.m. Monday, April 1, 2024, of a person who had been shot.

Tumminelli said investigators located Ro’Thonio about 35 to 45 minutes after the initial call.

“We actually had him in custody very quickly,” Tumminelli said. “Once the K9 got there, they tracked to the location and Ro’Thonio was detained at that location.”

Asked whether police recovered the weapon thought to have been used, Tumminelli said, “We have obtained a large amount of evidence … and I am fairly confident that the evidence that we located has linked him to the crime.”

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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Police make arrest in fatal shooting of 39-year-old man in East Stuart