A Gainesville man was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Monday for second degree murder and accessory after the fact in a January 2021 shooting at the Swamp Car Wash on E. University Avenue.

According to a State Attorney’s Office press release, Judge Phil Pena sentenced Jovante Deometre Jackson, 30, after an Alachua County Jury found Jackson guilty of the two charges on Oct. 12. When Jackson is released, he will be on probation for 10 years.

The incident occurred on Jan. 7, 2021, when the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) responded to the Aloha Liquor Store at 930 E. University Ave. for a person shot. The investigation found Michael David Jr., 20, as a suspect along with Jackson.

Davis was charged with killing Thomas Jamal Smith and was sentenced to 22.5 years in the Florida Department of Corrections on July 8, 2022.

The GPD investigation revealed Jackson provided Davis with a firearm and told Davis to handle Smith. Jackson later disposed of Davis’s clothes and the gun used in the murder and drove Davis to Lake City where Davis slept in the car and a hotel room for several days.

This marked the second killing at the Swamp Car Wash in recent years. On May 15, Eugene Patrick was found guilty of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing Bobby Hopkins Jr. in an altercation at the Swamp Car Wash on May 22, 2021. Patrick fled the scene but later turned himself in to law enforcement.