Palmetto teen will be prosecuted as adult in fatal shooting

BRADENTON -- A Palmetto teenager charged with the fatal shooting of another teen in Bradenton in August will be prosecuted as an adult.

Jamari Lamon Murray-Barnes, 17, surrendered to law enforcement Aug. 13. He is charged with second-degree murder with a firearm in the death of 16-year-old Justin Fabien.

If convicted, the teen could face life in prison.

Police responded at 12:27 a.m. Aug. 10 after receiving a 911 call reporting gunfire in the 1200 block of 21st Street East in Bradenton. They found Fabien, of Palmetto, with gunshot wounds to his head and neck.

Despite resuscitation efforts by police, Fabien was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived at 12:36 a.m.

On Aug. 28, the State Attorney's Office formally declined to prosecute Murray-Barnes as a juvenile and filed a case charging him as an adult.

Murray-Barnes pleaded not guilty. His lead defense attorney declined to comment on the case.

Murray-Barnes was initially on a standard 21-day juvenile custody hold at the Manatee Regional Juvenile Detention Center in Bradenton, where he had surrendered himself. He has since been transferred to the juvenile unit at the Manatee County jail.

Police say the motive for the shooting may have been related to an earlier robbery, but the victim's sister said it was a dispute over his gun.

On Wednesday, the Bradenton Police Department released a copy of the 911

calls made in the case. The initial call came in at 12:25 a.m. from a women living in the 2000 block of 13th Avenue East.

"I was sitting in the living room feeding my child and there were three gunshots in the backyard," she said. "It was bang, bang, bang."

The woman told the 911 dispatcher she couldn't see anything outside her window.

When asked if she wanted a police officer to come to her door to update her after they investigated, the woman said no.

"I don't know exactly who is watching, and I don't want them to know I called the cops," she said.

Another call to 911 at 12:28 a.m. was transferred to a Bradenton police dispatcher at the Emergency Communications Center. The dispatcher said the caller reported someone was shot in her driveway.

The Bradenton dispatcher tried to talk to the caller but lots of screaming could be heard in the background.

"I told you that was Justin," the caller is heard saying.

After many attempts, the dispatcher was able to get the caller's attention.

"It's our friend. We hear the ambulance. They need to come," the caller said. "Y'all need to do CPR or something."

"Justin," she screeched.

Even after police arrived on scene, 911 calls continued to come in.

One caller said he was lying down when he heard shots.

The dispatcher asked if he knew anything about how the victim was shot.

"No," he said and starts to sob. "But he's bleeding a lot."

In a final call transferred from ECC to Bradenton police, the dispatcher said it appeared a caller called back by accident after having called to complain the ambulance was taking too long.

The caller appeared to be giving police a hard time as they worked to secure the area before letting the ambulance on scene, she added.

Fabien's death was the third homicide in Bradenton in 2015, and the 13th in Manatee County.

Detectives are still searching for the suspected shooter in the most recent homicide in Bradenton, Kelly B. McPherson.

McPherson, 23, is wanted on a charge of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Keyvis McCullough, 30.

Witnesses told detectives McPherson walked up to McCullough and shot him at close range three times.

Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter @JDeLeon1012.

This story was originally published September 17, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Palmetto teen will be prosecuted as adult in fatal shooting ."