Police: 19-year-old Daytona Beach man shot, killed 'openly gay' man out of fear of being 'outed'
Police arrested Jakari Webb on a first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of 19-year-old Telan Mann on June 23, 2022. (Photo via Daytona Beach Police Department)
VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. - A 19-year-old Daytona Beach man accused of shooting and killing an "openly gay" man that he met online in February, allegedly feared that the victim would have outed his sexual preference to others, Police Chief Jakari Young announced Wednesday during a news conference.
The Daytona Beach Police Department said its investigation began around 2 a.m. Thursday, June 23, when a man, later identified as 19-year-old Telan Mann, was found shot and killed on a sidewalk near Oak Tree Circle and Forest Glen Boulevard. Details on the circumstances that led to the shooting or information about a suspect were not immediately available at the time.
After more than 100 hours of reviewing surveillance footage from nearby businesses, including surveillance video from Bethune Cookman University, Chief Young told reporters Wednesday they were able to track down the suspect, 19-year-old Jakari Webb's movements before and after Mann was killed. Authorities tracked his location to a home on Garden Street, a couple of miles away from where the shooting happened.
Webb was taken into custody by Daytona Beach police soon after officers found him while serving a search warrant at a home on Garden Street around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, June 28. A handgun was also found at the home. He faces a first-degree murder charge and is being held without bond at the Volusia County Jail. Chief Young said there are discussions being had with the State Attorney's Office about possibly tackling on a hate crime charge, too.
Raw news conference: Daytona Beach Police announce arrest in shooting death of 19-year-old Telan Mann
After more than 100 hours of reviewing surveillance footage from nearby businesses, Chief Jakari Young told reporters Wednesday they were able to track down the suspect, 19-year-old Jakari Webb, on Garden Street, a couple of miles away from where the shooting happened.
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Mann is also facing a probation violation charge, as well as a charge for resisting arrest after he tried to run from SWAT and K-9 officers when he was found at the Garden street home.
"Based on what we were able to ascertain, the suspect had some concern that he was going to be outed by our victim as far as his sexual preference, so to say," Young said. " So that's what we were able to gather as far as a motive for our shooting,"
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Law enforcement said the two had been communicating back and forth on social media since February, and the day of the shooting is believed to be the first time they decided to meet in person.
FOX 35 News spoke to friends of Mann last week, who described him as the life of the party.