A Jacksonville man accused of shooting and killing his 4-year-old daughter while injuring his 2-year-old daughter and the children’s mother made his first court appearance Thursday morning. A judge denied him bond.

Trudale Reed Jr., 29, is charged in connection with a shooting Tuesday evening outside a home on Traci Lynn Drive.

According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Reed fired a gun during an argument, killing his 4-year-old daughter and injuring his 2-year-old daughter and their 27-year-old mother. Investigators say Reed left the scene in a stolen SUV but was found about 20 minutes later.

This is not the first time Reed has been arrested, though. His first arrest was an armed robbery in 2015. He was sentenced to 45 months in jail.

Then in 2022, Reed was arrested for domestic battery. Court records show it involved a family member, but the charge was later dropped. His latest arrest happened a year ago in July 2025. It was another domestic battery incident involving a family member. That charge was also dropped.

“There’s a whole range of domestic violence crimes from pushing to actually harming someone with a cut or knife or a punch or broken bones. So prosecutors look at the spectrum of the nature of the crime, and if it’s a lower level of domestic violence, they’re going to be a little more amenable to resolving the case or maybe dropping it, particularly if the victim wants it dropped,” Curtis Fallgatter explained.

The State Attorney’s Office confirmed the victims in these incidents did not want to continue with prosecution.

Former Federal Prosecutor Curtis Fallgatter said even if Reed was convicted of those charges, they were still misdemeanors.

“The worst he’d get would be a year in a county jail, and most of them don’t. They’ll get a little bit of time, maybe they’ll get an anger management class, that type of stuff, maybe some mental health counseling. The whole goal generally at the misdemeanor level is to rehabilitate the perpetrators so they’re not going to do it again,” Fallgatter said.

Reed now faces a second-degree murder charge and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, among others.

Fallgatter told First Coast News that Reed’s past criminal history should not play a role in this case.

“Whether he had that or not, given the incredibly serious nature of this charge, you can count on those prosecutors looking to end up with a very serious and harsh sentence for him, which he deserves,” Fallgatter said.

Reed is expected back in court on July 23.