“The victim indicated that he (Jenkins) did not shoot him,” said a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office. Jenkins still faces a felony charge of possession of marijuana over 20 grams, which he will face in juvenile court. Wednesday afternoon, the teenager’s father, Willie Jenkins, drove to Pensacola to pick his son up from the juvenile correctional institution. “Being in the media at just 17 for that … it’s kind of hard to swallow as a parent,” Willie said. “He was about to get 10 to life for something he didn’t do — that wasn’t him.
“They told me it was going to take $50,000 to free my son,” he added. “I thought I’d be dead before he gets out.”
Jenkins was arrested Dec. 12 after he was charged with allegedly shooting another teen in the leg outside of the Tom Thumb store in Navarre the night before. The victim’s injuries were not life-threatening. Rich Aloy, public information officer for Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, said the case was still under investigation. According to the arrest report, Santa Rosa County officers responded to 8700 Navarre Parkway where the shooting took place. The victim told deputies he had been shot by a black male with dreadlocks. The officers were led to the home of Jenkins — a black teenager with dreads — where they found him lying in bed next to a bag of marijuana. Willie said he was at work during the time of the shooting. After work, he was grabbing dinner and on his way home when he noticed the crime scene tape at Tom Thumb. He had no idea what had happened until deputies came in the middle of the night to arrest Ty. The four days in the correctional institution jarred Ty, his father said. “It shook him up, it really shook him up,” he said. Reading the comments section on social media and news sites had the same reaction for Willie.
“To be ridiculed by the public … people were commenting, ‘Hope he burns,’ ‘Hope he never gets out,’ ” he said. “People need to realize he’s just a child. He’s still a human.” As for the marijuana charge, it’s one step at a time, Willie said. For now, he’s focusing on the good. “We all have skeletons in our closet,” he said. “Most of us don’t get caught for it.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Charges dropped against teen in shooting