ALACHUA COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) says an Ocala man has been indicted by a grand jury on murder charges after he was found driving a dead man’s car.

The sheriff’s office says on Wednesday, Jan. 17, a grand jury returned the indictment on 29-year-old Javon Barclay on charges o first-degree murder, grand theft of a motor vehicle, grand theft of a firearm, possession of a firearm by a felon, felony driving with a license suspended and fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement.

On January 17, 2024, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office says a grand jury indicted Javon Barclay on charges for his alleged involvement in a shooting at Cynthia Chestnut Park that left a man dead. Courtesy: Alachua County Court Records

What happened

ACSO says the indictment stems from a case dating back to Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023. Deputies say they responded to the Cynthia Chestnut Park around 6:45 p.m. after they received reports of people hearing gunshots in the area.

When they arrived at the scene, they found a man who had been shot multiple times. He was identified as 44-year-old Johnny Walker. He was later pronounced dead at the UF Health Trauma Center.

ACSO detectives say there was a BMW that was driven by Walker missing from the scene.

After the shooting

A day later, on Sept. 18, 2023, around 10:00 a.m., the Ocala Police Department (OPD) notified ACSO deputies that the same BMW was seen traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 441. The sheriff’s office says Barclay was the one driving the vehicle. Barclay led Alachua and Marion County deputies on a short pursuit which eventually ended when a precision immobilization technique (PIT) was used, according to ACSO.

Barclay was arrested on multiple charges at the time that were unrelated to the shooting. They later released footage of the car chase and his arrest.

In September, the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office released body and dash cam footage of the chase, arrest of Javon Barclay. At the time, he was considered a person of interest in a deadly shooting at Cynthia Chestnut Park. Courtesy: ACSO

|WATCH VIDEO HERE: Deputies release dash and body cam video of chase, arrest of person of interest in Cynthia Chestnut Park shooting

Barclay’s history

When ACSO arrested Barclay in September he also had an outstanding warrant out of Marion County for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

We checked Marion County’s jail records and found Barclay was also arrested in 2020 on a warrant for domestic battery by strangulation, aggravated assault without a deadly weapon, kidnapping/false imprisonment, possession of marijuana, and violating his pre-trial release.

Records show he was also arrested in Marion County in 2014 on a Hernando County warrant for violating probation by possessing marijuana.

Mugshots for 29-year-old Javon Barclay’s arrests in Marion County in 2014 and 2020. Courtesy: MCSO