Ring camera records group carrying man out of Florida Airbnb before he died, cops say

A group of suspects who rented an Airbnb to run a marijuana trafficking operation were caught on a doorbell camera carrying a shooting victim out of the home before he died, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

The men took the victim, whom officials identified as 29-year-old Xavier Antonio Johnson, of St. Petersburg, Florida, to a hospital in Davenport and fled, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a news conference. Johnson died of his injuries at the hospital, Judd said.

When investigators started looking into the April 13 killing, all they knew was that a gunshot victim had died at the hospital, but they didn’t know where the person was shot, Judd said.

“The owner of the Airbnb looked on the security cameras and saw this traffic in and out of her house, saw this apparently deceased or very seriously injured person being carried out, and she called us,” he said, “and that’s how we found the crime scene.”

Investigators released the camera footage of Johnson being carried out of the house and, with tips from the community, were able to identify the three men in the video, according to a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office.

They were also able to identify Justin Jenkins, 29, of Volusia County, whom they arrested and charged with first-degree murder, according to the post. Detectives are seeking to identify a second man who can be seen in another video released by the sheriff’s department wearing a mask and going in and out of the house with Jenkins, according to the post.

Detectives are offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who can provide information that leads to a positive identification of the man, Judd said during the news conference.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 863-298-6200.

This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Ring camera records group carrying man out of Florida Airbnb before he died, cops say."