A Jacksonville family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest following the death of their relative.
The family told First Coast News that the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office confirmed to them that the body found on the city's Northwest side Tuesday is that of 21-year-old Shawnell Spann-Mahone.
Kevin Davis said his nephew was like a son to him. He did everything he could to teach Mahone, including using a Mercedes as an incentive to continue working.
Davis said his nephew had been working for a janitorial crew lately. Now he is left planning his nephew's funeral.
“He had an extremely large smile, he would help anybody," Davis said. "Right now my entire family is hurting, this senseless violence has to stop.”
Wednesday marks exactly one week since the last time Davis and his family heard from Mahone.
“He sent a text message to his girlfriend saying that he was headed home, that’s the last time we [saw] him.”
Davis said the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office confirmed that the body discovered along Garden Street Tuesday is his nephew.
“We will grieve properly, we will definitely be participants in the "Stop the Violence, Increase the Peace" campaign on September 1 [that is] being put on by the Northside Coalition," Davis said.
Police suspect foul play and Davis is now focusing on the last spot his nephew was seen along West 18th street on Jacksonville’s Northside.
“From my mother’s back door to the property behind her is thirty feet, so in that thirty feet he disappeared,” he said.
Wednesday morning Investigators blocked off both 17th and 18th street around the home where Davis’ mother lives, the last location Mahone was known to be at according to family.
“The thing that we found strange is that the place where he actually disappeared was burnt this morning at 4 a.m.,” Davis said.
Davis has bumped up the reward for information. The family is offering up to $10,000 to anyone with information that leads to an arrest in connection with his nephew’s death. He also has a message to the community.
“I’m encouraging all of Shawnell’s friends not to create any more havoc or violence trying to retaliate, that’s not going to do any good," he said. "An eye for an eye simply means you leave the world blind. And we’re not trying to do that. We need to stop killing each other.”
Police have not confirmed if the activity on W. 18th Street Wednesday is connected to where Mahone was found on Jacksonville's Northwest side.