OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. – A man was sentenced this week to 35 years in prison in the shooting death of the son of Osceola High School’s football coach, according to documents.
Jaquari Walker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and possession of a firearm and will serve a minimum of 25 years in prison, the documents show.
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Walker was arrested in March 2023 in the death of Eric Pinellas Jr., 30.
During a jail interview with Kissimmee police, detectives said Walker admitted to being involved in the shooting of Pinellas, who was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds on Jan. 11, 2023, in the area of Cypress Street and Bay Street.
Pinellas was taken to a hospital, where he died.
“Eric was an amazing young man with a bright future ahead of him who was loved by many and losing him in such a way to senseless violence is incompressible,” said father Eric Pinellas Sr. “It has definitely been a rough few months for our entire family and everyone who loved him.”
During the interview, police said Walker admitted to knowing Pinellas, whom Walker claimed had agreed to bond him out of jail for an arrest back in January and gave him $200, but Pinellas never bonded him out of jail and never returned the money.
Walker told police that he and Pinellas saw each other the night of the shooting and got into a fight, leading him to shoot Pinellas.
The victim’s family told News 6 that Eric Pinellas Jr. was on his way to his grandmother’s house when he was shot.
“He just loved his family. You know nobody is perfect in life,” Eric Pinellas Sr. said.