Rose DeVoe speaks at Monday's Victims’ Rights Week kickoff at City Hall, remembering the unsolved murder of her son, Gabriel John DeVoe, in 2022. | News4Jax
Published on April 22, 2024 at 3:36 pm
Rose DeVoe stood just a few feet from a photo of her 23-year-old son, his face smiling at her and dozens of police officers, prosecutors and victims rights advocates assembled Monday in City Hall.
The city was kicking off its annual Crime Victims’ Rights Week, and she was there to speak about how her son, Gabriel John DeVoe, was gunned down in an Arlington apartment parking lot almost a year and a half ago. His killer is still on the loose.
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Since the theme of this Victims’ Rights Week is “How Would You Help?” DeVoe also offered an answer she said could help families of victims “who have suffered a loss at the hands of a criminal, a murderer, a rapist.”
“To the citizens of Duval County — better yet, any county — this is a clarion call, a call to action. When will it be enough?,” she said, flanked by Jacksonville police officers.
“If you see something, or you heard something, or you know something about a murder or a crime, say something to the authorities,” Rose Devoe added emotionally. “Victims’ families are waiting and counting on you. Get involved. Someone’s life is depending on you. It may even be the life of someone you know or love. Stop having a blind eye to what’s going on in your community. Report those drug dealers; you will save the future and the life of someone’s child.”
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Since its national founding in 1981, Crime Victims’ Rights Week has challenged people to remove barriers to achieving justice for all victims of crime, according to the U.S. Office for Victims of Crime. It also celebrates the accomplishments of the victims’ rights movement.
To commemorate the effort locally, the city hosts numerous events to help victims of violent crime learn more about where they can go for help, or where people can work to help others. That includes the Mayor’s Victim Assistance Advisory Council, which meets monthly to address victims’ issues and concerns.
Freda Washington-Perez, Project: Cold Case’s advocate for families affected by unsolved homicides, chairs the advisory council. She said many families are suffering in isolation.
“The importance of Victims’ Rights Week for them and for other victims of a crime is offering certainty that Jacksonville has not forgotten,” Washington-Perez said. “This year’s victims’ rights theme places responsibility on all of us — ‘How will you help: Options, services and hope for crime survivors.'”
Another of those services is the victim advocacy unit at the State Attorney’s Office. The effort now includes a pilot system designed to provide information to crime victims from the point when the State Attorney’s Office starts helping them, through the investigative and judicial process. It is the first use of this technology east of the Mississippi, said First Assistant State Attorney Stephen Siegel.
“It allows us to communicate almost in real time with victims through mobile text notifications,” he said. “They are updated as to information they can rely upon to contact our office — who to contact to make sure we are not missing someone. And if someone wants to step forward and work with our office through his process, we have a means to do that.”
The Sheriff’s Office also has a Victims and Witness Services unit with four advocates who help victims with trauma and crisis intervention.
DeVoe’s mother said there is still no information about why her son was killed. He was found dead Nov. 2, 2022, at an apartment complex on Justina Road.
DeVoe recounted the days and weeks after her son’s death and thanked prosecutors and nonprofit groups like MADS DADS, Project: Cold Case and the Justice Coalition that help support her and other murder victims’ families. And she addressed those like her who have lost someone through violent crime.
“To all victims, the wounded; to victims families, the saddened; to survivors, the silent broken; to the traumatized and the shattered, you are not what you have been through,” DeVoe said. “You are an overcomer, a mighty warrior. You are powerful; you are a survivor, a force to be reckoned with. You are more than a conqueror.”
First Coast Crime Stoppers continues to offer a $15,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of those involved in Gabriel DeVoe’s death.
Nationally, a candlelight vigil to pay tribute to victims of crime and the counselors and volunteers who advocate on their behalf will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Locally, multiple events are planned this week:
- 5:30 p.m. Monday: The Justice Coalition will host its annual Tossing of the Roses ceremony on the Northbank Riverwalk behind The Haskell Building, 111 Riverside Ave., where survivors and victims can toss a rose into the St. Johns River in memory of a lost loved one.
- 10 a.m. Tuesday: The mayor’s Victims Assistance Advisory Council will have its annual Resource Fair at the Main Library, 303 N. Laura St.
- Noon Tuesday: The mayor’s Victims Assistance Advisory Council will have its annual Victim Rights awards and scholarship luncheon at the Main Library. Those who have demonstrated outstanding achievements on behalf of crime victims and victims’ rights will be recognized. For reservations, call (904) 255-3321.
