JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Sixteen-year-old old Jerry Daniels sits behind bars at the Clay County jail, charged with felony possession, after he was arrested at a home on Alligator Blvd. Thursday. It's the home where Detective David White was shot and killed Thursday after a shoot-out with 36 year old Ted Tilley.
Tilley also died that night after he was shot by police, but they weren't the only two in the home. Police say four others, two men and two women, were also there. Days later, some wonder why they aren't facing charges, since the homes owner claims they weren't supposed to be there at all.
"I think everybody was involved in the same way," said neighbor Armon Tetreault.
Action News asked State Attorney Angela Corey why the four individuals are still free. She says "squatting" is the process of taking over an abandoned home and isn't illegal as long as someone filled the proper paperwork with the property appraiser. Investigators are still trying to determine if anyone who was in the home that night filed that paperwork.
"If you're not adversely possessing legally, then you're nothing more than a tresspasser, which is criminal, or a burglar which is a more serious crime."
She says charges could soon be coming, especially if anyone was living inside the home illegally.
"It wouldn't just be for the squatting, it would be for any criminal activity that led up to the squatting, any criminal activity that occured once they were illegally in there, and we're looking at all aspects of it."
Until then, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement says everyone has been forced out of the home, and neighbors like Tetreault hope everyone involved will soon be held responsible.
"Everybody was there and they were all part of it and everybody knew what was going on. It's not like you can just hide it in one room from everybody else there."
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is now in charge of the investigation. They expect that investigation to remain open for at least another couple of weeks.
