Jahmar Ellis and Vershawn Williamceau (BCSO)
Two 22-year-old men in Florida have been arrested for allegedly gunning down a third man — in front of the victim’s mother, father, and sister — over a stolen handgun. Vershawn Williamceau, the alleged shooter, and Jahmar Ellis, his alleged accomplice and cousin of the victim, were taken into custody last week and charged with one count each of first-degree premeditated murder with a firearm over last month’s fatal shooting, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, officers with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department at about 11:39 p.m. on Aug. 19 responded to a shooting in the Melrose Park neighborhood, which is about 25 miles north of Miami. Upon arriving at the scene, first responders learned that the victim — whose identity is redacted from the document — was transported to Plantation General Hospital by his father and later transferred to Broward Health Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead from a single gunshot wound to the head.
In an interview with investigators, the victim’s father said his son was outside the house in his parked car preparing to go out and celebrate a friend’s birthday when he saw a Black male dressed in all black coming down the street. The man, who the father said he recognized as Williamceau, approached the car and yelled, “Where’s my s—?” Without waiting for a response, the man fired multiple shots before fleeing the scene on foot.
The father told police that Williamceau was friends with his nephew, Jahmar Ellis, and that Williamceau had been to family occasions at their home.
The victim’s mother told police she also saw a man she recognized as Williamceau approach and shoot her son in the driveway. Before opening fire, she said she heard him say “I told you…I was gonna get you a–. Where’s my s—?”
The mother also told police that on July 29 her nephew Jahmar Ellis — whom she knew was close friends with Williamceau — called her and said that her son had taken something from them “and they were going to kill [him],” per the affidavit.
She then began receiving text messages from Ellis threatening her life and the life of her son.
“If family finna die today f— it,” one read. “Pick your side dig your own grave,” said another.
“‘Your son took from my blood brother if u think we letting that slide u high asf (as f—),” the final message stated, per the affidavit.
The victim’s family even told police they paid Williamceau a total of $800 for the missing firearm, which was given to him by Ellis’ mother and which he accepted. Ellis’ mother — identified in the document as “Nadine” — told police that she “begged” Williamceau not to shoot her nephew, but said he was “adamant that [the victim] was going to pay for what he did and that it was not about the [stolen] gun but about the principle of the matter.” However, after accepting the money he and her son allegedly promised no harm would come to the victim.
Nadine told police that her son was “favoring” Williamceau “more than his own blood cousin,” which she found unsettling. She also said that after the victim was shot, at about 12:05 a.m., Williamceau called her and claimed he did not do it. Police noted that the only people who would have known about the shooting were the people present at the time it happened.
While not the shooter, police reasoned that because Ellis sent messages threatening the victim and his family, vocalized support for killing the victim, and provided information that included the victim’s whereabouts prior to the shooting, there was probable cause to charge him with murder.
The next court date for the duo is currently scheduled to take place on Oct. 13, records show.
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