Feds to begin presenting case against accused Manatee County crime ring

Federal prosecutors are expected to begin presenting their case soon against six men charged with nine murders and dozens of other crimes in Manatee County.

The defendants were charged two years ago in a 28-count indictment.

Jury selection have been underway at the the U.S. District Court in Tampa since June 6 and a jury could be seated as early as Monday. Once a jury is seated, attorneys present opening arguments and then the prosecution will begin to present the case it has built against six men.

The six defendants:

• Charlie “Mr. 30N32” Green
• Jerry “Jerk” Green
• Corey “James” Harris
• Napoleon “Pole” Harris
• Nathaniel “Popo” Harris
• Deonte “Tang” Martin.

All defendants face automatic life sentences or death if convicted. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has said the trial could run through late August.

Seeking justice

Former Bradenton Police Chief Michael Radzilowski said at the time of the indictment he hoped the case would bring closure for the families of the victims and for the community to see law enforcement was working hard to make their neighborhoods safer.

“Everybody involved worked very hard on this case, and I am glad it is coming to a conclusion,” Radzilowski said Friday.

Celeste Evans, mother of Joseph Evans, told the Bradenton Herald in June 2014 when the indictment was handed up, all she ever wanted was justice for her son’s death.

She urged loved ones not to retaliate and to have faith in God and the sheriff’s office.

“This has been really hard for me, the hardest journey I’ve had to take,” Evans said then. “There is absolutely no reason for him to be dead.”

Nine murders charged

The nine homicides:

▪  Christopher Jenkins, 25, who was shot dead April 8, 2007, by Jerry Green, detectives say, after the two had fought at Club Nitros in Palmetto.

▪  Rodney D. “Hot Rod” Lamb and Erika Williams were shot and killed Sept. 2, 2008 by Jerry Green, the indictment states. These murders are not charged separately but rather listed acts committed under the RICO charge.

▪  Joseph X. Evans, 18, was reportedly shot dead through the window of a home where he was playing with his daughter Sept. 4, 2010, when Nathaniel Harris and Charlie Green mistook him for Demetrius “Meat” Cunningham.

▪  Cunningham was lured from his apartment Oct. 26, 2010, by Calvin “Forty” Barnes, 16, who had been kidnapped by Nathaniel Harris, Napoleon Harris and Charlie Green. The trio then shot Cunningham dead.

▪  Barnes was then killed Oct. 26, 2010, as well by Nathaniel Harris, Napoleon Harris and Charlie Green for having witnessed the trio kill Cunningham.

▪  Ceola D. “Bo” Lazier, 31, was ambushed and shot dead July 3, 2012, by Charlie Green and Jerry Green, according to investigators.

▪  Carlos Alberto “Giggles” Jurado, 26, was asked by Napoleon Harris and Jerry Green to deliver one kilogram of cocaine April 1, 2013. When Jurado arrived with the cocaine, they shot him dead and took the drugs, investigators said.

▪  Brenton Coleman Sr., 39, was shot dead by Napoleon Harris, Corey Harris, Charlie Green and Deonte Martin in the parking lot outside the 13th AV Dream Center on Aug. 1, 2013, following a youth football practice.

This story was originally published June 10, 2016 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Feds to begin presenting case against accused Manatee County crime ring."