Two Jacksonville men face murder charges in Kernan Boulevard break-in death from September 2022
Arrests follow multi-year investigation into masked apartment break-in and fatal shooting
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives have arrested two men and charged them with murder and armed burglary in connection with a September 2022 break-in at an apartment complex on Kernan Boulevard that ended with a 23-year-old man’s death.
The suspects were identified as Tyss Harris, 23, and Talint Curtis, 25. Both were booked into the Duval County jail after separate arrests, marking a significant development in a case that remained unresolved for more than three years.
What investigators say happened in 2022
Police records describe a late-summer 2022 callout to an apartment complex in the Kernan Boulevard area, where officers were told that three masked men forced their way into a tenant’s apartment and opened fire inside. The tenant returned fire during the encounter, investigators said, and the masked men fled.
About an hour later, officers were called to a hospital on 103rd Street, where Melvin Deon Keepler Jr., 23, arrived with a gunshot wound. He later died from his injuries.
Detectives concluded that the hospital shooting victim was connected to the break-in incident and identified Keepler, Harris, and Curtis as the masked men alleged to have entered the apartment during the burglary investigation.
Timeline of the arrests
September 2022: Officers respond to the reported break-in and shooting at the apartment complex; Keepler later dies after being found with a gunshot wound at a hospital.
June 24, 2025: Detectives obtain an arrest warrant for Harris. He is taken into custody the same day with assistance from a U.S. Marshals task force.
Late February 2026: Curtis is arrested in Bay County, Florida, and transported to Duval County the following day.
Charges and what comes next
Harris and Curtis are charged with murder and armed burglary. The public records released to date do not detail the specific degree of murder alleged, nor do they provide additional information about how the gunshot wound was sustained during the confrontation described by investigators.
As the case proceeds through first appearance hearings and potential bond proceedings, prosecutors will be required to present evidence supporting the charges, while defense attorneys will have the opportunity to challenge the state’s theory of the case. Further details—such as forensic findings, witness statements, and any surveillance or digital evidence—are expected to emerge through court filings and hearings.
The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.