Testimony concludes in teen’s murder trial, jury to get case Friday

Testimony concluded in the trial of a Palmetto teen in the 2015 fatal shooting of another teen.

Jamari Lamon Murray-Barnes, 19, is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm in the death of 16-year-old Justin Fabien.

On Wednesday, testimony concluded in the case against Murray-Barnes. Closing arguments will resume Friday and then the case will be handed to the jury.

In the early morning hours of Aug. 10, 2015, Bradenton police were called to the 1200 block of 21st Street East to reports of a shooting and found Justin laying on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds to his head and neck. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Both teens, who had previously been enemies, had allegedly been passengers in the same car on the night of the shooting. When the driver dropped off Justin, Murray-Barnes allegedly got out behind him and shot him in the head and neck.

According to testimony at trial, Murray-Barnes had asked the driver for a ride to a home near Cortez Road and 75th Street West in Bradenton after the shooting. The driver had been shocked by the shooting, but asked Murray-Barnes why he shot Justin, to which Murray-Barnes told him that it was because Justin pistol-whipped and robbed him weeks earlier.

The murder weapon was never found, lead homicide detective Jame Curulla testified Tuesday afternoon. The driver had promised to take him and another homicide detective to where he said Murray-Barnes had thrown the gun into a storm drain, but was unable to locate it. Investigators searched the sewer drains in the neighborhood with county employee to no avail.

This story was originally published October 11, 2017 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Testimony concludes in teen’s murder trial, jury to get case Friday."