Following months of no progress, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and local leaders are pleading with the public to provide tips about the shooting of a 17-year-old girl in March.
Inandi Wyche was shot and killed in her car near the corner of Norfolk Boulevard and Portsmouth Avenue.
Her mother, Monique Wyche, said she’s been raising money to increase the reward toward providing tips that could lead to her daughter’s murderer’s arrest.
“We're not going to stop,” Wyche said. “We're going to keep passing out flyers. We're going to call the news. I post [on social media] every day.”
Jacksonville City Council members Rory Diamond and Ju’Coby Pittman joined the Inandi’s family at the corner near where she was murdered. They were also joined by members of JSO and the local Fraternal Order of Police.
“We're tired of crime just running rampant,” Pittman said. “It's running rampant, y'all. Not just in my district, but all over this community.”
Last week, City Council members held a press conference to condemn the shootings of eight people in less than a week in the Arlington area. In October alone, Arlington has seen 11 shootings, five of them deadly.
Pittman and Diamond said they are both donating $500 to First Coast Crime Stoppers to increase the reward for tips that lead to an arrest. The Fraternal Order of Police announced it’s adding another $5,000. Prior to those donations, the reward was set for $8,000.
Diamond said the goal is to raise $30,000.
“I promise you that there's nobody working harder every day to make our community safer than the men and women in the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office,” said Steve Zona, the president of the FOP.
Winston Seabrooks was classmates with Wyche at Ribault High School, and said she was one of his friends.
“It is hard for me to digest that she is not here,” Seabrooks said. “She's supposed to be in school with me right now, enjoying our senior year, but she's not.”
Seabrooks said he believes someone saw something the day his friend was killed.
“The sun was still out. Someone was sitting on their porch, someone was looking out the window. And for someone out there to see who did something, for them not to say anything, they’re a coward. And I want to make that clear,” he said.
To report tips about Inandi Wyche’s case, call First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS . It can be done anonymously.
Sky Lebron can be reached at slebron@wjct.org, 904-358-6319 or on Twitter at @SkylerLebron.
