MACCLENNY, Fla. – The Jacksonville NAACP is raising concerns about a Baker County murder case, but the story starts with a shooting last summer in Macclenny.
On June 26, 2025, a burst of gunfire near Quail Lane left 19-year-old Devin Powers Jr. dead and another teen injured, according to court records. Investigators later wrote that the case involved multiple people, a shotgun, and two defendants who said they fired after being shot at.
A few months later, a Baker County grand jury indicted Jamarian Byrd and Travis Roberts Jr. on first-degree premeditated murder and other charges. The indictment alleges the men “did unlawfully kill” Powers “from a premeditated design to effect the death … by shooting” him, and it also includes a charge of aggravated battery and counts accusing them of shooting into occupied homes and firing in public…