Four suspects including brother of dead man face robbery, murder charges

Four suspects are in jail in St. Johns County after being on the run Thursday.

Deputies swarmed a neighborhood near Cowan Road after a deadly shooting that investigators said started with a home invasion.

Xavier Williams, 21; Jeffrey Balcom, 21; Christopher Pettigrew, 18; and Zared Matthews, 18, are in police custody in connection to the shooting.

According to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office, the group is responsible for the death of Pettigrew’s 24-year-old brother, Paul, who investigators said was with the suspects when they attempted a home invasion.

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Action News Jax reported Thursday how Linda Powell was one of the neighbors who helped catch the suspects after she spotted two of them in her backyard.

“They were, like, 5 feet away but, because the blinds are angled down, they could not see me, but I could see them real well,” said Powell.

She recognized Williams’ mug shot when we showed it to her. “ He’s the one I saw outside my window, but he was a lot dirtier. He did not look that pretty that’s for sure,” said Powell.

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The Sheriff’s Office said the five suspects went to a home on Cowan Road to rob the victims of money and/or drugs, but the man who lives there fought back, shooting and killing the elder Pettigrew.

Records show Williams was previously linked to two other robberies in St. Johns County.

Powell said she’s thankful he and the rest of the suspects are now off the street. “I can’t say enough for the law enforcement. I mean, I would not be in my home today if it was not for them,” said Powell.

The man who lives at the home is not facing any charges. A Sheriff’s Office spokesman said the office won’t be releasing his name for security reasons in case there’s retaliation.

Cox Media Group