Staff report from Alachua County Sheriff’s Office release

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Nathaniel Deweese Kendrick, Jr, 25, and Geremy Doel Navarro, 22, have been charged with first-degree homicide in the shooting death of Zhané Sanders at Palms of Archer in June 2022.

On June 5, 2022, at 2:17 a.m., Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to Palms of Archer, 7117 SW Archer Road, regarding a reported drive-by shooting with one victim. The victim was identified as 16-year-old Zhané Sanders. Sanders was transported to an area hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.

Sanders was from out of state and was in the area visiting family for a high school graduation celebration; she appears to have been an innocent bystander.

Detectives were able to identify two suspects for the homicide of Zhané Sanders and secured warrants for the arrest of Kendrick and Navarro, who are being held in the Marion County Jail.

Alachua County Sheriff Emery Gainey said, “This is the first step of justice for Zhané and her family. I commend our detectives and partner agencies for their continuous pursuit of justice for the victims.”

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ASO) would like to thank law enforcement from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Ocala Police Department, along with the assistance provided by Bill Gladson, the 5th Judicial Circuit State Attorney. ASO continues to work closely with the 8th Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office for the successful prosecution of this case. More charges and persons may be charged as this case moves forward.

Geremy Navarro recently stood trial for the homicide of Ferron Marquise Williams in Ocala in late January 2022. This murder took place a few months before Zhané Sanders’s murder. Navarro was convicted of this murder and sentenced to life in state prison.