A Duval County jury has found Carlos Lofton guilty of Aggravated Battery (Discharge of a Firearm Causing Great Bodily Harm) and Attempted Armed Robbery (Discharge of a Firearm Causing Great Bodily Harm), according to Florida State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s Office. As a Prison Releasee Reoffender, Lofton now faces up to life in Florida State Prison. Sentencing will be set by the Honorable London Kite at a later date.
The charges stem from a shooting incident that occurred on November 25, 2023, at a laundromat on Jacksonville’s Westside. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers responded to the scene after a man was shot in the neck. The victim and his girlfriend fled the location and called 911 from a nearby gas station.
According to investigators, the victim was sitting in the driver’s seat of his girlfriend’s vehicle while she was inside doing laundry. When she returned, she observed two men speaking to the victim. One of them, later identified as Lofton, pointed a firearm at both the victim and the girlfriend before firing a shot at the victim.
The two suspects then fled in their own vehicle. The victim later told police the men were attempting to rob him.
Video surveillance from the laundromat captured Lofton and his co-defendant, who has since pleaded guilty. Shell casings recovered from the scene were matched to a second shooting that occurred later the same day and also involved Lofton. The firearm used in the laundromat shooting was later found next to Lofton.
The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorneys Jalisa Curtis-King and Michael Eckhart.
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