Suspect identified as family holds vigil to remember slain Cross City man

After a man was shot and killed in Cross City on Thursday, April 25, the suspect in the shooting has been named and the victim's family is coming together to remember the new father.

Eddie Jarrabet, 27, was found dead on N.E. 224th Ave. in Cross City just after 5 p.m. Thursday. He had been shot three times and left in the street, his aunt holding him as Cross City Police responded to the scene.

"It's been a week but it doesn't feel that long. It feels like the same day," said Jarrabet's sister Adriana Olsen.

About an hour or two after the shooting, 17-year-old Royce Rutledge turned himself in at the Dixie County Jail, according to Cross City Police. Investigators said Rutledge led them to where he placed the gun after the shooting.

Jarrabet was a new father, as well as an uncle. His family came together Friday evening to remember the man who they said always made them laugh.

"He was a good person and a good uncle," Olsen said. "He would come up and call everybody by their nickname and I loved it. That's how our conversations started."

Rutledge is being charged with first-degree manslaughter. Typically, manslaughter charges are second-degree felonies. In this case, the charge is first-degree because a firearm was used.

"He had an impact on his family, he had an impact on the community," said Jarrabet's cousin Rodney Scott Jr. "It's just hard to speak about because he was good on both sides."

Olsen said now her family is hoping for justice. She said she hopes Rutledge stays in jail.

A new father, Jarrabet's son was born just weeks before the shooting. Olsen said she plans to keep her brother's memory alive for his son.

"It doesn't matter what problem I was facing," Olsen said. "If I called my brother, he was like, besides my mom, he was the only one that could fix it for me."

Rutledge faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted. He faces a minimum sentence of 11.5 years.