Missing Sarasota Boy May Have Witnessed Shooting Death

SARASOTA, FL - A newly released affadavit says a missing 14-year-old boy may have witnessed a murder about a week before he disappeared. Jabez Spann, 14, has been missing for almost two months.

Spann was last seen on Sept. 4 at a family Labor Day barbecue in the area of 23rd Street. The reward for information on the whereabouts of Sapnn remains at $25,000.

The affidavit says Spann may have witnessed the murder of 31-year-old Travis Combs on Aug. 28 – about one week before he disappeared. Reginald Parker, 55, told two of Spann’s family members and another person that he witnessed Combs’ murder. He says he saw Spann at the scene when the murder happened, according to the affidavit.

Parker said he heard Spann yell “Oh my God. Y’all shot him” after three men surrounded Combs in his car and there was a single gunshot, according to the affidavit. Combs died of a gunshot wound to his upper chest.

Spann's family members and another person have provided statements confirming Parker's statements regarding the shooting death and Spann being at the scene, the affidavit said.

Parker has denied his statements to the family members and the other person and denied he witnessed the murder. Parker has since been charged with accessory after the fact to the murder of Combs, the affidavit said.

Sarasota police said they did not release the affidavit earlier because of the active and ongoing criminal investigation into the two separate cases: the homicide of Combs and the disappearance of Spann.
Both cases and their possible connections to one another remain under investigation, police said. "The Sarasota Police Department is not discounting any possible connections between the two cases and continue to seek additional information and leads in both cases," police said Monday.

"I'm hoping someone in our community knows something about both these cases.We're asking our community to come forward with information to help us bring Jabez Spann home and bring justice to Travis Combs' family," said Sarasota Police Chief Bernadette DiPino. "From the beginning of both these investigations, our detectives have been working tirelessly to bring peace to both of these families," said DiPino.

Sarasota police, the FBI and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement have been trying to determine what happened to Spann. Information on the missing boy can be submitted anonymously to Crimestoppers online, through the mobile app or by calling 941-366-TIPS (8477).

Image via Sarasota Police Department