Man arrested for 2018 murder while babysitting 2-year-old girl 

 FLEMING ISLAND – A former boyfriend was arrested on Monday, March 2, and charged with second-degree murder after the Clay County Sheriff’s Office accused him in the death of a then two-year-old girl he was babysitting in 2018. 

Wren Allen Garrett, now 39, of Jacksonville, was arrested after the girl died on Aug. 31, 2025, after suffering a significant brain injury while he was caring for her while her mother was tending to her parents on Oct. 13, 2018. 

The mother returned to her home on Fleming Island and found the injured child, who needed to be transported to Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville with “significant bleeding on the right side of her brain, resulting in the surgical removal of approximately one-quarter of her skull due to swelling,” according to the affidavit for arrest report. 

Garrett told investigators he heard a “thud” in the kitchen, suggesting the child may have fallen and hit her head. 

The mother and daughter moved to Louisiana, and when the daughter died six months ago, an autopsy determined her cause of death was “bilateral pneumonia due to sequalae of blunt force injuries to the head” sustained during the Oct. 13, 2018, incident. The manner of death was determined to be homicide. 

A warrant for Garrett’s arrest for second-degree murder was issued on March 2, and he was arrested later that day. 

Garrett was arrested on May 29, 2020, and charged with aggravated child abuse. He was released after posting a $75,003 bond, and his trial was scheduled to begin on March 30. 

He now is being held without a bond. 

Lawtey man jailed for hitting girl in school crosswalk during chase 

 MIDDLEBURG – A Bradford County motorcyclist was arrested after he struck a child in a school zone crosswalk during a high-speed chase on Blanding Boulevard on Thursday, March 26. 

Ryan Michael Hewitt, 32, of Lawtey, was charged with aggravated fleeing with injury, reckless driving with injury and/or damage, leaving the scene of an accident with injury and/or damage, failure to register his motorcycle and operating a motorcycle with a suspended license after a Clay County Sheriff’s Office deputy noticed Hewitt riding on Blanding without a license tag. 

When the deputy attempted to stop him, Hewitt sped away at speeds estimated at more than 100 mph, according to the arrest report. The deputy broke off the chase because it became too dangerous, but CCSO was alerted of a girl being hit in a crosswalk while a school crossing guard had traffic stopped in the crosswalk. 

The child was taken to HCA Florida Orange Park Hospital and treated for minor injuries. 

Hewitt eventually collapsed at Blanding and Twelve Oaks Drive from his injuries sustained when he struck the child, according to CCSO. He was arrested and taken to Orange Park Hospital for treatment. 

A background check revealed that his driver’s license was suspended twice in 2022. It also showed he had active warrants in Duval and Bradford counties. 

His bond was set at $755,012. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 31. 

CCSO: Largo man caught with gun, cocaine, pot during traffic stop

MIDDLEBURG – A traffic stop for a car with no installed headlights and a driver not wearing a seatbelt led to the arrest of an armed Largo man who was in possession of 3.36 grams of cocaine, 5.95 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia on Saturday, Feb. 28. 

According to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, Anthony Steven Lyman-Lauzon was a passenger in a car driven by Rachelle Lyman on County Road 218 when a deputy noticed her car didn’t have a front bumper, headlights and that Rachelle wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. When the deputy checked the license tag, he learned Rachelle’s license was suspended. 

After the car was stopped, the deputy then noticed the passenger had what appeared to be marijuana in his lap. According to the arrest report, he also smelled unburned marijuana, which prompted a search of the car. 

Inside a bag on the floorboard of the passenger seat, deputies found cocaine, marijuana, a grinder, two handguns and a total of 38 rounds of ammunition. 

In addition to being charged with possessing the drugs and paraphernalia, Lyman-Lauzon was charged with possessing concealed firearms during the commission of a felony. 

Lyman-Lauzon's bond was set at $71,010. 

Rachelle was given citations for not having headlights, not wearing a seatbelt, driving with a suspended license and not having a required front bumper, and her car was towed.