JACKSONVILLE and ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — An FBI raid at a Mandarin jewelry store Friday morning left boarded-up windows and a growing list of unanswered questions.
Also Friday morning, federal agents were seen at St. Johns County townhome on Talulla Trail. We know both scenes are connected, but the FBI has not said how.
Workers spent hours covering broken windows at Victory Jewelers after agents moved in before sunrise. A nearby business owner recorded loud bangs and what looked like tear gas. One person was seen in handcuffs.
Joseph Sagadraca, who lives steps away from the St. Johns County townhome that was raided, said he walked outside around 7 in the morning to find law enforcement.
“I saw a whole squadron of vehicles,” Sagadraca said. “There was a utility van that I saw. The doors were just swung wide open.
“It was a pretty large van and, you know, after noticing that the vehicles that were parked over here and the vehicles, the cop cars that were parked on this street, you could just see like, you know, something was going down,” Sagadraca said.
He said the neighborhood is usually quiet, which made the sight even more alarming.
“Coming out around 6:37 in the morning and seeing that many law enforcements out and about was definitely an alarming sight to see,” Sagadraca said.
The FBI confirms agents were serving a warrant at the St. Johns County address but has not released details about the investigation or explained the link between the two locations.
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