Jebre Cook, left, and Martin Hower.
Imagine working nights in a gas station in Jacksonville.
Yikes.
It’s a miracle this man lasted 15 years.
A man arrested last week in connection with an armed robbery of a Gate station on Atlantic Boulevard last month was charged Thursday with killing a clerk during a holdup at a second Gate station.
Jebre Cook was arrested in the fatal shooting of Martin Hower, who was shot before dawn Dec. 15 at the Gate Station on Merrill Road. That holdup took place minutes before the Atlantic Boulevard store was robbed.
Hower was taken to a hospital, where he died. He was 55 years old.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office put out an arrest warrant the next day. According to the warrant, one of the responding offers identified Cook through surveillance video because he had interactions with him in the past.
Cook was arrested Sunday at an apartment complex on Arlington Expressway. Jacksonville police said Cook has admitted to the robbery and murder.
Charges of murder and armed robbery were added to the previous armed robbery charge. He was in court Friday on the new charges and denied bond. His next court date has been set for Jan. 24.
A regular customer at the station said Hower had worked there for 15 years.