Robin Jean Roundtree, a 52-year-old Black/African American woman, was fatally shot on the evening of September 6, 2018, while driving in Orlando, Florida. At approximately 5:30 p.m., she was traveling east on West Colonial Drive near Mercy Drive and Ferguson Drive when she was struck by gunfire. After being wounded, Roundtree’s vehicle went into the median, crossed into the westbound lanes and collided with another vehicle.
Responding officers and paramedics initially encountered what appeared to be a serious traffic crash, but while providing emergency assistance they discovered that Roundtree had been shot. She was transported to a hospital, where she died.
The investigation eventually developed a much more detailed picture of the moments surrounding the shooting. Court records described surveillance footage showing Roundtree’s gold Chrysler in the area with two other vehicles, a silver 2003 Infiniti G35 and a blue 2008 Hyundai Azera. Investigators said the Infiniti and Hyundai appeared to block Roundtree’s vehicle at a traffic light. Witnesses reported that she maneuvered toward the median as the vehicles moved through the intersection, and police alleged that the driver of the Infiniti fired into Roundtree’s vehicle. The two other cars then left the area while Roundtree, already wounded, lost control and crashed.
Police soon focused on Nicole Jones. Investigators determined that the Infiniti and Hyundai were connected to Jones and her son, and a search warrant was executed at Jones’ residence on September 8, two days after the killing. Police reported finding several firearms there. According to court documents later described by local news outlets, Jones knelt down, placed her hands behind her back and made a statement indicating that she was the person officers were seeking. Despite that encounter, an arrest in the homicide did not immediately follow. Detectives continued working the case for months, examining surveillance footage, cellphone information and witness accounts in an effort to reconstruct where the vehicles and people involved had been at the time of the shooting.
Investigators also learned that Roundtree had recently won a significant amount of money from a Florida Lottery scratch-off ticket. Her daughter told detectives that Roundtree had spoken openly about the winnings and expressed concern that the money could have played a role in what happened. Authorities, however, did not establish that as the motive. Arrest documents indicated that Roundtree and Jones were strangers, and police publicly said they had not determined why the shooting occurred. The probable-cause investigation also alleged that Jones gave detectives misleading information, including a false phone number and address and an account claiming she was picking up her child when Roundtree was killed.
On July 24, 2019, nearly eleven months after Roundtree’s death, Orlando police arrested Jones. She was accused of second-degree murder with a firearm, shooting from a vehicle and shooting into a vehicle. Prosecutors initially pursued the case on the theory that Jones was driving the Infiniti and fired the fatal shot as the vehicles traveled through the Colonial Drive area. Jones was initially ordered held without bail. She later posted bond on December 29 and was released while the criminal case remained pending, with a trial at one point scheduled for the following March.
The prosecution ultimately did not result in a trial or conviction. In 2023, WESH reported that the State Attorney’s Office had dismissed the case against Jones the previous year because prosecutors concluded that the evidence could not prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt. Roundtree’s daughter said the family had expected a trial but was informed that an important witness had withdrawn or changed the earlier account and could no longer remember critical details. With the prosecution dismissed, the murder charge against Jones did not proceed to a verdict, leaving Roundtree’s family without a criminal conviction for the September 2018 killing.
