Jury acquits man in 2023 shooting death of teenager | Exclusive

A jury on July 9 found Dexavion J'Neil Brown not guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm in the 2023 shooting death of Lezarius Graham, 17.

The jury also found Brown not guilty of attempted first-degree murder with a firearm in an unrelated shooting.

The panel did find him guilty of tampering with his electronic ankle bracelet. In that case, the judge sentenced him to time already served in jail.

Lezarius Graham's family and friends who attended the trial left after the verdicts were read aloud. Crying could be heard coming from outside the courtroom.

Multiple bailiffs were inside the courtroom when the verdict was read. Ocala Police Department officers were outside the courtroom, and some police personnel were stationed along nearby streets.

Brown's family and friends remained inside the courtroom after the verdict.

Released from custody

Defense lawyer A. Antonio Tomas waived Brown's pre-sentence investigation. Brown already had been in jail 969 days.

Circuit Judge Peter Brigham asked Assistant State Attorneys Rich Buxman and Amy Berndt about sentencing. They told him they would leave it up to him.

For the tampering charge, the judge withheld adjudication. He wished a smiling Brown the best of luck.

The jury's deliberations

Jurors had 48 pieces of evidence to consider as well as the testimony of 24 witnesses. They deliberated for a little more than two hours.

Brown's co-defendant, Leilani Ashantae Brown (no relation), is charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and grand theft auto in the case. Her case is pending. If convicted, she faces life in prison.

The Dexavion Brown trial began July 6 with jury selection.

Dexavion Brown testifies in his own defense

The morning of July 9 began with Dexavion Brown testifying in his own defense. He said he was not present when Lezarius Graham was shot and killed on June 6, 2023. He said he was at a friend's home recording studio with Curnelius Andrew Brown (no relation to the two other Browns in this case) listening to beats and making music.

He said Davinci Cheesman Dawson and Leilani Brown came to the residence, and Dawson showed him a bag of marijuana. The defendant said Dawson told him that he had shot someone for the weed, referring to Lezarius Graham.

Dexavion Brown said Dawson showed him blood on the passenger door of a Toyota Corolla that Marion County Sheriff's Office detectives said had been stolen by Leilani Brown.

The car was involved in two shootings: the fatal shooting of Graham and an earlier case where someone fired (but missed) at a man in a store parking lot.

Dexavion Brown said Dawson threatened to shoot him if he didn't remove his ankle monitoring device at that time.

Brown said the man in charge of the home recording studio told everyone they had to leave and they left. He said he never saw the vehicle or the occupants after June 6.

In the attempted murder case, Dexavion Brown said he was driving the car but Dawson fired the gunshots. Brown said no one in the vehicle knew Dawson was going to do that. The intended target, a rival gang member, was not injured, Ocala police said.

The defendant said he felt something at the back of his head – he assumed it was a gun – and continued driving. Brown said they drove around and went to several places before ending up at the recording studio.

Prosecutor's cross-examination

Cross-examined by prosecutor Buxman, Brown said he's not a gang member. The organization he belongs to is a music group.

Brown didn't deny driving the stolen vehicle. In fact, he said he knew the vehicle was stolen. He agreed that information produced by prosecutors on his whereabouts, obtained from his ankle monitoring device, was accurate.

Asked why he did not call law enforcement if he was threatened, Brown said where he's from, they don't call authorities unless someone is seriously hurt.

Additional testimony

After Dexavion Brown testified, the defense rested its case.

Prosecutors called several rebuttal witnesses. One was Leilani Brown, the co-defendant.

On July 8, Dawson testified that he had a sexual relationship with Leilani Brown. Dawson said he, not Dexavion Brown, hid in the car that Leilani Brown drove and eventually killed Graham.

On July 9, Leilani Brown said she doesn't know Dawson and never had a relationship with him. She said Dexavion Brown, not Dawson, is the one who fired the shots in the parking lot and who later fatally shot the teenager.

On cross-examination, defense attorney Tomas asked Brown about her drug use. She said she uses molly and marijuana daily. Molly, she said, keeps her awake for two to three days. She said despite her heavy drug use, she doesn't have memory loss. He also hammered home that the woman had given inconsistent statements throughout the case.

Lead Detective Kip Peterson, a sheriff's office sergeant, said he didn't arrest Dawson in connection with the death of Lezarius Graham because a self-incriminating letter Dawson wrote in April 2025 was inaccurate. For example, Dawson said he shot the victim three times, but the medical examiner said there was only one shot.

Prosecutor's closing argument

Prosecutor Buxman told the court that Lezarius Graham had a good job and was a reliable worker. Then someone snuck up on him and shot him. He said the teen ran for his life. The single gunshot entered his body, pierced his heart, exited, and lodged in his right leg.

The prosecutor said the boy didn't deserve to be murdered. Buxman told the court that Dexavion Brown was the gunman. He said the defendant should be held accountable for the teenager's death.

Before that fatal shooting, the prosecutor said, Brown shot at another man who was in a store parking lot and drove away.

Buxman said both shootings were motivated by gang animosity.

He reminded the jury that Leilani Brown testified she was with the defendant during both shootings. Sheriff's detectives said her story was supported by the evidence they collected.

Defense closing argument

Tomas said the state's case relied mainly on the co-defendant's testimony. The lawyer said the woman's statements are unreliable. He said he suspects that while prosecutors didn't offer the woman a deal, she may be angling for one.

He said Dawson implicated himself with his confession, both in writing and in his trial testimony. Tomas said the co-defendant was the one who convinced Dawson to rob Lezarius Graham, who eventually was killed.

The death was senseless and wicked, the lawyer said, but his client, Dexavion Brown, didn't do it.

Jurors

At the conclusion of closing arguments, the judge read the final jury instructions. The two alternate jurors were dismissed. The remaining 12, seven women and five men, went to the back to deliberate at 5:02 p.m.

Three minutes after going to the back, the evidence was given to jurors. While in the deliberation room, jurors had to leave their cellphones in the courtroom because they cannot have any electronic devices while talking about the case.

Shortly after 5:30 p.m., jurors had two questions. They wanted to know if Dawson's letter was in evidence, and if so, could they read it. The jury was told that the letter wasn't in evidence.

About 5:50 p.m., jurors said they wanted to watch videos that had been shown at trial. After reviewing the videos, they returned to the back at 6:14 p.m.

At 7:08 p.m., jurors said they had reached a verdict. Jurors entered the courtroom at 7:24 p.m. and after the judge examined the verdict form, the verdict was read aloud at 7:25 p.m.

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Jury acquits man in 2023 shooting death of teenager | Exclusive

Reporting by Austin L. Miller, Ocala Star-Banner / Ocala Star-Banner

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 9:40 PM.