OCALA, Fla. — More than a year after a teenager with autism was shot and killed for no apparent reason, Ocala police say they’ve caught the man responsible.
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Just before 11:30 p.m. on the night of Jan. 27, 2022, Ocala police responded to a 9-1-1 call from the 900 block of NW 6th Ave. reporting gunshots being fired.
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Officers arrived to find 19-year-old Ferron Williams with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to a local hospital and later died there.
Before the shooting, police said Williams was sitting outside on a friend’s porch so that the could use the public Wi-Fi from a nearby restaurant, and didn’t appear to have any problems with anyone.
At the time, police said Williams appeared to be a completely innocent murder victim.
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On Friday, 14 months after the shooting, police announced the arrest of 20-year old Geremy Doel Navarro.
Police have not said exactly how they developed Navarro as a suspect or what the motive for the shooting may have been.
Navarro was booked into the Marion County jail Friday afternoon on a charge of first-degree premeditated murder. He’s being held there on no bond.
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“I want to commend the tireless dedication of our detectives who have worked diligently for the past 14 months to bring closure to the heinous murder of 19-year-old Ferron Williams,” Ocala Police Chief Mike Balken said in a statement. “Their persistence in this investigation has led to the arrest of Geremy Navarro and I am proud to say that justice will finally be served.”
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