Palmetto teen convicted of shooting man to death
A Palmetto teenager has been convicted of murder in the 2018 shooting death of 26-year-old Tommy Brown.
After deliberating for about three and a half hours on Thursday, a jury found 19-year-old Jacoryan Christopher Lee guilty of second-degree murder with a firearm. He now faces a sentence of between 25 years and life in prison.
A date for Lee’s sentencing hearing has not yet been set.
Late on March 11, Brown was pulling into the Oakwood Village apartment complex in Palmetto with the intention of giving someone a ride but was approached by Lee.
Brown had Lee’s gun in his lap and two began arguing over the money Lee owed him, the reason he was holding the gun as collateral. Lee got into the backseat and shot Brown. Lee and the front passenger ran off, Lee running out of his slide sandals, later found near Brown’s car.
The front passenger returned telling deputies with the Manatee County what had happened.
During the 4-day-long trial, that passenger was among the witnesses the jury hear from.
