NORFOLK, Va. – Court documents reveal the victim and suspect in a Norfolk shooting previously knew each other; the deceased was currently a Spartan football player and the suspect a former player.
Officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Hayes Street shortly after 6 p.m. for a gunshot disturbance. Upon arrival, they found 18-year-old Nicholas Jerome Ackies of Richmond inside an apartment suffering from what appeared to be a gunshot wound.
Ackies, a former Freeman High football player, was pronounced dead on scene. During the preliminary investigation, detectives identified 22-year-old Jaquan Anderson as the suspect.
Anderson also attended Norfolk State University and played linebacker for the Spartans before graduating in 2016. According to the team's website, Anderson is also from Richmond and played football at L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield.
Anderson (Left) and Ackies
Search warrants said Anderson was the one who called 911. In the call he allegedly admitted to shooting Ackies, who he identified as his friend.
Dispatchers told first responders that Anderson said he shot Ackies because he tried to rob him in his home.
When police arrived on scene they found Ackies with trauma to his face, according to the documents.
Search warrants also describe finding multiple cartridges on the floor of Anderson’s apartment.
Anderson was arrested and charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He is being held without bond in the Norfolk City Jail.
Blood is being used against evidence collected at the scene, according to the search warrant.
In a released statement, Anderson’s mother sent her deepest condolences to the Ackies family.
“I can’t even begin to imagine how she feels especially not knowing the facts regarding what took place on Friday,” she said.
She said she has not been able to speak at length to her son.
She also called it heartbreaking that neither Norfolk State University (NSU) faculty and staff, teammates, or the Coach have spoken on his behalf as it relates to his character.
“JaQuan has dedicated the last 4 years of his life as a devoted student, athlete, and mentor at NSU,” she said. “This news is heartbreaking to me. He is not perfect... (none of us are) but JaQuan is a good hearted individual and would do anything in his power to help a person in need.”
She said that the media failed to mention her son had a full four-year academic football scholarship, was on the Dean's list, a scholar student, and acted as an mentor in his local high school and at NSU.
She also said that she wished he had moved back home after graduating in May.
“I only wish it was a dream,” she said. “Words can not express how heartbreaking it is to see him viewed as a thug or someone who is heartless for human life!”
