Suspect apprehended in Daytona Beach triple homicide case.

Written by Kristen Schmutz

Belden Communications News

The Daytona Beach Police Department held a press conference earlier today to address the tragic homicides on Park Drive in Daytona Beach Wednesday morning. Deputy Chief Jennifer Whittet provided updates and shed light on the most recent developments in the case.

According to police, the Volusia County Sheriff Communications Center received multiple 911 phone calls about a person shot at the intersection of MLK and Park Drive around 6:30 a.m. Wednesday. One of the callers identified himself as Jerome Anderson and claimed he had shot someone in self-defense.

When law enforcement officers encountered Anderson, he was outside his residence at 613 Park Drive, holding a cell phone and a black handgun before being detained and placed in handcuffs.

During the initial investigation into the incident, officers discovered the first victim, Antoine Desmond Melvin, 42, Anderson's roommate suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in the kitchen of 613 Park Drive, while the second victim, Anderson's neighbor, John Burch, 64, was near the roadway next to his residence at 614 Park Drive (across the street from 613). Both victims were pronounced dead on the scene by the Daytona Beach Fire Department. The third victim, a possible acquaintance and known transient who frequents the area, Patrick Lassiter, 35, was found at the intersection of Park Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard with multiple gunshot wounds before being transported to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

During the press conference, Deputy Chief Whittet disclosed that the Daytona Beach Police Department is actively seeking information about a potential fourth victim, who may have also been shot at the intersection of Park Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and described as a black male wearing a long-sleeve white shirt and black pants. The identification of this individual could lead to further charges against Anderson.

Anderson is a convicted felon with a long criminal history and was wanted on an active Volusia County warrant for Aggravated Battery and Tampering with a witness. Following today's shooting, Anderson now faces three counts of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Deputy Chief Whittet expressed the department's determination to uncover the motive behind these senseless acts of violence. "We do not know who he was defending himself from or from what," Whittet stated. "However, we are still working through evidence to piece together what happened."

The Daytona Beach Police Department and community leaders at the press conference are urging anyone with information about the incident to come forward and assist in the ongoing investigation.