Lakeland Police have identified two people wanted in connection with the murder of 3-year-old Jaquez Norton. The little boy was killed Monday during a shootout in the parking lot of a north Lakeland apartment complex that also fatally wounded suspected gunman Kemarius Wilson, 22.
Chief Sam Taylor said investigators have determined there were three people in the shooters’ white Dodge Challenger, not two. They believe Kavarius Green, 30, was the gunman who fired the fatal shots, while the dead man’s fraternal twin brother Demarius Wilson, 22, might have been driving the car.
LPD is seeking the public’s help in locating the men, who are considered armed and dangerous. They have ties to the Lakeland, Plant City and Orlando areas. There is a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
Police have not disclosed a motive, but Taylor said it was a targeted attack in which the Challenger blocked the path of a Toyota RAV4 and two armed men jumped out of the passenger door.
Inside the RAV4 were Jaquez, his mother, his three-month-old sister and a male passenger, Robert Einzig, 23. They had been visiting a friend at the Cambridge Cove Apartments off Mall Hill Road just after 6:30 p.m. Monday.
Taylor said Kemarius Wilson and Green approached the vehicle — Wilson holding a pistol, Green armed with a rifle.
Witnesses said the mother, Yeimarie Baez, 21, screamed “My kids are in the car! My kids are in the car!” but is not known if Wilson or Green heard her.
Green allegedly shoved the barrel of the rifle into the passenger window of the RAV4 and Einzig grabbed it, with the two fighting over it. The gun discharged, injuring Einzig. Green then ran to the front of the car and fired the rifle into the front of the RAV4 multiple times, Taylor said.
Einzig, who was shot in the hip, fired back at Green with a .9 millimeter handgun, but Taylor said he didn’t hit anyone.
Taylor said when Green shot into the RAV4, Kemarius Wilson was running behind the vehicle. Wilson was hit in the neck and Jaquez was hit “multiple times.” He had been sitting in the rear passenger seat.
As all this was happening, Baez grabbed her infant daughter, who was seated behind her, and ran. Neither was hit. Einzig remains in the hospital.
There was a makeshift memorial at the edge of the parking lot Thursday, near the spot where the little boy died in the backseat of the RAV4.
Taylor said the two gunmen got into the passenger side of the Challenger and police suspect Demarius Wilson drove them south on Kathleen Road, winding up at the home of the Wilson twins’ uncle in the 800 block of West 14th Street.
A wounded Kemarius Wilson was taken out of the Challenger’s passenger seat, put into another car and driven to Lakeland Regional Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Taylor said Demarius Wilson then drove the Challenger to the 800 block of West Crawford Street, parked it between two houses, put a black tarp on it and fled. A patrol officer spotted the car about half an hour later and noticed the tarp not completely covering the vehicle. The officer thought it didn’t look right, got out to inspect it and discovered it was the car for which they were searching.
All of the men believed to have been in the Dodge Challenger have prior criminal records.
Kevarius Green
Records on file with the Polk County Clerk of Courts office show Green was arrested in 2017 and charged with misdemeanor possession of cannabis and drug paraphernalia, along with a felony — destroying or tampering with physical evidence because he put a large handful of the marijuana in his mouth before an officer walked up to his car. The officer made him spit it out. He was sentenced to probation, but violated that and was then sentenced to 120 days in jail. His driver’s license was also suspended for a year.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Kevarius Green for two counts of first-degree murder, shooting into an occupied vehicle and attempted first-degree murder.
Demarius Wilson
Demarius Wilson also has two felony charges on his record. In September 2019, he was arrested for possessing cannabis resin and drug paraphernalia. The charges were dropped. In April 2020, he was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Police say he pointed a handgun at a man during a verbal argument. Records show that charge was dropped.
An arrest warrant has been issued for Demarius Wilson for tampering with evidence. Taylor said more charges might be added later.
Kemarius Wilson
Kemarius Wilson, the gunman who died, had multiple charges for domestic violence in Polk, Hillsborough and Orange counties. A girlfriend filed a protective injunction against him in October in Polk County. It was dismissed.
Wilson also had an arrest in Orange County in February 2023 for battery on a pregnant woman. An affidavit on file with the Orange County Clerk of Courts office shows Wilson kicked a woman, whose name is redacted, slapped her, hit her with a broom handle and pinned her on the bed. It says they have a 3-year-old child together and she was pregnant with his second child. The charges were dropped.
He was also arrested for felony domestic battery by strangulation in Plant City on February 9. That case file is sealed.
During the fight in Orlando, the affidavit shows the woman told Kemarius Wilson “he would die before he turns 23.”
The Wilsons’ brother, Kodi, was involved in a shootout several years ago and also died. He was 21.
How to contact police
Heartland Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. Anyone who knows the subjects’ whereabouts should contact Det. Cory Lawson at cory.lawson@lakelandgov.net or 863-834-8975 or call 9-1-1.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can call Heartland Crime Stoppers at 888-400-8477.
View video of the LPD press conference.
latest news
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
