The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Department is now investigating the first homicide in its jurisdiction since 2012.
Coroner Cinda Edwards says Justin Sharp, 25, was killed by a single gunshot wound to the back. Sharp was found outside a home near Highland and Whittier shortly after 7:30 Friday morning.
That area is patrolled by the Sheriff’s Dept., not Springfield Police. Undersheriff Jack Campbell says the investigation is just beginning.
“Now we need to talk to everyone that was in his life,” said Campbell. “We will begin to talk to every person we can come in contact with that knew him and knew who his friends were and what have you.”
The department doesn’t have anyone in custody. A search warrant for Sharp’s home turned up several items of “evidentiary value,” including some caged pitbulls.