A Florida man has been sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing a father of two outside a St. Augustine bar.
Vance Wilkins, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for killing 50-year-old Jason Mullins on February 2, 2023. Just minutes before the shooting, Wilkins sent a text to a friend saying, “About to kill someone.”
A Devastating Loss
Mullins was known for his work at the St. Francis House homeless shelter and the St. Augustine Historical Society. He left behind a teenage daughter and son.
At the sentencing, more than a dozen of Mullins’ family and friends asked Judge R. Lee Smith to give Wilkins the maximum punishment.
“I could not believe that a person like Jason could be gunned down by a cold-blooded killer for no reason,” said his aunt, Jean Love. She added that while she couldn’t forgive Wilkins, she wanted justice.
A close friend of the family, Joan Bailey, spoke about how the murder had shattered Mullins’ children and parents. “His children lost a future — a lifetime of moments, guidance, and support that they will never have,” she said.
His parents, Al and Nancy, have been struggling to cope with the loss. “They are shadows of their former selves,” Bailey told the judge.
The Night of the Murder
Mullins and Wilkins were inside the British Pub on Anastasia Island when witnesses heard them arguing.
Surveillance footage later showed Mullins leaning into Wilkins’ truck window, appearing to offer a handshake, but Wilkins refused. Wilkins then drove off but waited in his truck for Mullins to leave the bar.
When Mullins stepped outside, Wilkins followed him into an alley, pulled out a gun, and shot him in the chest. A witness told police that after Mullins collapsed, Wilkins stood over him and fired multiple shots before speeding away.
Mullins was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Chilling Crime
Investigators discovered that just 15 minutes before the shooting, Wilkins texted a friend, “About to kill someone” and “F— Jason.”
An autopsy found 10 bullet wounds on Mullins’ body.
Police found Wilkins hours later, and he admitted to the killing.
“The defendant will never walk the streets of St. Augustine again, and the city is a safer and better place now that he is gone,” said State Attorney R.J. Larizza.
Wilkins will spend the rest of his life in prison without the chance of parole.