Trial Begins for Man in Grindr Date Shooting Over Dinner Bill
Prosecutors say Jamal Moreland shot his Grindr date after an argument over paying for food, leaving the victim with three gunshot wounds.
Jamal Moreland, 27, is on trial in Jacksonville for attempted armed robbery and attempted first-degree murder after allegedly shooting his Grindr date during an argument over a dinner bill on February 19, 2023.
At trial this week, Assistant State Attorney Crystal Lorraine Ganpath-Freed told jurors the victim — whose name is being withheld for his protection — “went on a date that almost became the date on his tombstone.”
She linked Moreland to the crime through evidence, including surveillance video and shell casings, reports Jacksonville CBS affiliate WJAX.
Prosecutors said the victim picked up Moreland at the corner of Lemon Grass Lane and Tarragon Lane on Jacksonville’s outskirts. They went to a bowling alley, then to a liquor store to buy a bottle of Crown Royal.
They returned to the bowling alley parking lot to drink, then headed to a restaurant where Moreland had ordered food, according to a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
At the restaurant, Moreland asked the victim to buy his food, but the victim refused. Moreland became “agitated” and argued until the victim, realizing the date was “not going well,” drove him back to the pickup spot before heading to a nearby Circle K, reports Jacksonville NBC affiliate WTLV.
Police said Moreland later texted the victim asking for $45 to cover a ticket, which the victim refused to pay. The victim returned to the place where he dropped off Moreland, and the two began talking in his truck before Moreland pulled a semi-automatic handgun and demanded money.
When the victim said he had no money, Moreland fired once, striking him. He then got out of the passenger side of the truck and fired more shots as the victim drove away.
The victim heard two more gunshots before crashing into a ditch on Jones Road. He was taken to a hospital, where doctors found he had been shot three times — once in the chest and twice in the right arm.
Surveillance video from a nearby home showed a second man with a firearm walking alongside the suspect after the shooting. His identity remains unknown.
The victim told investigators he met Moreland on Grindr, where he went by the username “GoodBig,” a few days before the shooting.
Police collected several items from the victim’s truck, including the Crown Royal bottle, which tested positive for Moreland’s DNA. Surveillance video from the liquor store also helped positively identify Moreland, then being held in Brevard County on an unrelated charge.
Jacksonville detectives interviewed Moreland in Brevard County Jail, where he claimed he hadn’t been to Jacksonville in four years. They noted his hand and neck tattoos matched those seen on the liquor store surveillance video.
Police eventually arrested Moreland on February 15, 2024.
In court this week, defense attorney Deana Duncan urged jurors to carefully weigh the evidence and any gaps in the prosecution’s case. “We’re confident you’ll be left with doubts… based on reason and common sense,” she said.
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