JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A $3,000 reward is being offered from First Coast Crime Stoppers to anyone with information leading to an arrest in a case that Jacksonville police said could be going cold.
Joseph Ross, 55, was shot and killed in June at a bus stop on the corner of Lane and Hyde Grove avenues on the Westside. Ross' killer hasn't been found and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said there are no more leads. Police hope someone will come forward with information.
Debbie Watkins, Ross' girlfriend, said life has been really hard for her and Ross' 6-year-old daughter, Jessica, since he died.
Watkins said the shooting was senseless and for no apparent reason. Police said Ross was at the bus stop he went to daily, waiting for his bus when he was shot. Officers said the bus driver found Ross unresponsive on the ground near the stop.
A witness told police there was a green four-door sedan that drove up in the northbound lanes facing southbound. The witness said a man got out of the car and got into a confrontation with Ross. Once the witness started driving off, that person heard a gunshot, police said.
"It's very frustrating to have an individual here who does what he does every day, takes care of his family, has a routine, goes to work every day, and to have what appears to be a stranger come up and kill him," said Asst. Chief Chris Butler, of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
Watkins said the person who shot Ross took a good father away from his daughter.
"Yes, we're very emotional over this. I am. But we feel anger also," Watkins said. "I'm upset. We wouldn't be -- this little girl, his daughter, she's not going to know him now."
Watkins said Ross' daughter asks about him all the time.
"She wanted to know what happened, who did it, and I just answer, 'A sick man hurt Joe, and he's gone. He's in God's hands,'" Watkins said. "I say it in simple terms so she can try to understand what happened."
"To know that the person that took this little girl's father -- her daddy is gone, and to know that he's arrested, it would be closure, knowing that he's behind bars and do the time for his crime," Watkins added.
Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.