Willie C. Stubbs Jr. was a 43-year-old writer, artist, and lifelong resident of Bradenton, Florida. A native of Manatee County, he attended local public schools and grew up in the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church. At the time of his death, he was a partner at Champions Life International Church and was working to complete a Gospel Rap album. Mr. Stubbs was the father of seven children and a grandfather of two, and he was cherished by his mother and four sisters.
On the evening of
September 22, 2026, an argument on a residential street in Bradenton turned deadly. At around 6:20 p.m., police were called to the 400 block of 12th Avenue East for a reported shooting. When officers arrived, they discovered Willie Stubbs and another man, 30-year-old Antonio Rosario, with gunshot wounds near the end of a dead-end road. Mr. Rosario was pronounced dead at the scene, while Mr. Stubbs died during transport to a local hospital.
Investigators with the Bradenton Police Department and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Investigation Unit determined that the shooting was the culmination of an ongoing dispute among Stubbs, Rosario, and a third man, Jakourtney Johnson. According to witnesses, the three men met on 12th Avenue East, where a physical fight broke out between Stubbs and Rosario. During the altercation, witnesses saw Johnson open fire with a handgun, firing several shots toward Rosario. Both Rosario and Stubbs were struck by the gunfire.
On October 1, 2026, Bradenton police charged Jakourtney Johnson, 34, with two counts of second-degree murder with a firearm for the deaths of Willie Stubbs Jr. and Antonio Rosario. Johnson had already been in custody at the Manatee County Jail since September 26 on unrelated narcotics warrants. When detectives interviewed him about the shooting, Johnson acknowledged knowing both victims but denied any involvement in their deaths.
The case against Jakourtney Johnson was proceeding through the court system as of his arrest in October 2026. Police asked anyone with information to contact Detective Brian Sands at [email protected] or the Bradenton Police Department at 941-932-9300. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Manatee Crime Stoppers.
