Jacksonville Man Receives 45-Year Sentence for Murdering Teen at Pool Party

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A man was sentenced to 45 years in prison followed by five years of probation in Duval County court Tuesday for shooting and killing a 16-year-old boy at a pool party in Jacksonville in 2023.

Colton Moore, 21, was sentenced for the murder of Derek “Dibbs” Pitts after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. A judge gave him 580 days of credit for time served.

On Dec. 29, 2023 around 11:40 p.m., Jacksonville sheriff’s officers responded to Coopers Hawk Apartments on Old St. Augustine Road and found Pitts shot.

Members of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department then responded to the scene and took Pitts to a local hospital where he died.

According to his aunt Bernadette Howarth, Pitts was at a party with a group of kids when he was killed.

“There was supposedly some argument or disagreement and the people left,” Howarth previously told First Coast News.

Police said there was a large group of juveniles at the party when an altercation occurred between two groups of individuals. During the altercation, Moore pulled out a gun, shot Pitts, and then fled on foot. JSO said there were several witnesses detained and taken to the Police Memorial Building to be interviewed.

“We called him ‘Dibbs.’ His father gave him that nickname when he was a baby,” Howarth said. “I don’t really know where it came from, but it stuck… just a joyful funny kid.”

Pitts’ family had offered a reward of $10,000 for information relating to the teen’s shooting death.

Feb. 1, 2025 would have been Pitts’ 18th birthday.