Alachua man charged with accessory after the fact to December murder

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

ALACHUA, Fla. – Franklin George Richardson, 20, was arrested yesterday and charged with accessory to murder after the fact and conspiracy to purchase a controlled substance in connection with the murder of Jaquan Robinson in Alachua on December 9, 2022.

Lacorrin Raheem Calhoun, 20, was arrested on December 22 and charged with shooting Robinson. Calhoun, who was shot during the incident, had called 911 and was found in a field just behind the area where the shooting took place; he was transported to the hospital and interviewed there.

Later that evening, a witness identified Richardson as the person who drove Calhoun to the shooting location. The witness reportedly said that Richardson arrived in his black Chrysler car, backed in next to the victim’s car, and got out to speak to the victim and his friend. Calhoun allegedly shot the victim just behind the victim’s car, and Richardson reportedly drove away, leaving Calhoun behind.

Alachua Police Department Detectives made contact with Richardson later that night at his residence, where they reportedly found a black Chrysler 200 with bullet holes on the driver’s side rear quarter panel. Richardson reportedly admitted that he was involved in the incident but said he had just dropped Calhoun off; he said he was unaware of Calhoun’s intentions. Detectives reportedly did not believe that he left as soon as Calhoun got out of his car because the bullet holes were consistent with the witness’s account that Richardson had backed in. Richardson then reportedly changed his story, saying he backed in but left as soon as he greeted the victim’s cousin, who was sitting in the victim’s car. Richardson reportedly said he wasn’t aware that his car had been shot.

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In a second interview on a later date, Richardson reportedly said again that he didn’t know why Calhoun needed a ride; he also said he didn’t see Calhoun with a weapon and didn’t know Calhoun was going there to buy drugs.

The man who brokered the drug transaction reportedly agreed to speak to detectives, and he said he saw Franklin back in next to the victim’s car, get out of the car, and speak with the victim’s cousin. He reportedly said that the victim gave Calhoun the drugs, and Calhoun faked a CashApp transaction and put the drugs in Richardson’s lap after Richardson got back into his car. He said the victim took the drugs back from Richardson and walked back to the trunk of his own car, where Calhoun shot him multiple times, then Richardson drove away.

An informant reportedly told detectives that Calhoun told him what happened, and his story reportedly contained details that had not been made public. The informant reportedly said that Calhoun planned to rob the victim of the drugs and had already decided to shoot the victim if he resisted. The informant said that Richardson agreed to help Calhoun with the robbery and had a gun that was provided by Calhoun.

Richardson has no criminal history; Judge James Colaw set bail at $550,000 in the arrest warrant, and Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at that same amount during Richardson’s first appearance.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.