It took some time, but on June 15 the judge and the lawyers eventually agreed on a jury to hear the case of a man charged in a June 2024 shooting death .
Here’s what we know about the trial in State v. Blayze Jurien White:
Judge: Retired Senior Judge Willard Pope.
Lawyers: Jonathan Mills represents White. Assistant State Attorneys Rich Buxman and Amy Berndt are prosecuting the case.
Charge: First-degree murder.
Any plea offer? No. If convicted, White will be sentenced to life in prison. Although it’s a first-degree murder case, the state is not seeking the death penalty.
In June 2025, another judge sentenced White to 60 years in prison for violation of probation. He was on probation for battery on his mother. The shooting death occurred while White was on probation.
Where’s White now? He has been locked up at the Marion County Jail since his December 2024 arrest.
How long will the trial last? It’s expected to last until June 18. Prosecutors anticipate calling approximately 25 witnesses. The defense doesn’t plan to call any witnesses. It’s unknown whether White will testify in his own defense.
How many people were called for jury selection, and how many showed up? According to the court, 1,000 people were summoned and 348 reported.
How many jurors were selected? 14. That’s a 12-member jury with two alternates.
About the case: Blaze and two other men, Zayshawn Lee Lamar Webb, 19, and 22-year-old Frederick Bernard Lowe, are accused of participating in the June 2024 shooting death of Derrick “DJ” Brown.
According to the Ocala Police Department, Brown, 24, was playing video games inside his residence when gunshots pierced a window, hitting him. The shooting took place in the 2800 block of Northeast Eighth Terrace.
White is the first of the three co-defendants to stand trial.
What happened in court on June 15? For more than an hour, White, 23, kept arguing that his lawyer hasn’t showed him some depositions pertaining to the case. White wanted the trial to be continued. The judge said no.
The judge asked White if he wanted to represent himself. White evaded the question. The judge warned White that if he continued to be disruptive, then he would be removed from the courtroom and allowed only to watch the trial by Zoom from a holding cell at the courthouse.
After much back-and-forth, White decided to keep Mills as his lawyer and proceed with jury selection.
More than four dozen potential jurors were called to the courtroom to be screened by the judge, the defense and the prosecutors.
A dozen or so people were excused for one reason or another. Once it was time for questioning, the state and defense each had 10 strikes.
Eighteen people were called to the jury box for questioning. Did they have prior jury experience? What did they do for a living? Did they have any good or bad experiences with law enforcement?
After they were questioned, the potential jurors were asked to step outside so the lawyers and the judge could discuss who would or would not be selected.
A low-key White conferred with his lawyer. On the first round, both sides agreed to six men and six women to serve. Five more people were called for questioning. Two were selected to round out the panel. In all, the jury has seven men and seven women.
Before leaving the courtroom, the judge gave the jurors their instructions. The court clerk then administered the oath.
The judge told them they should meet at the courthouse at 8:30 a.m. on June 16, and the trial will start about 8:45 a.m.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Trial starts for man in fatal shooting. Victim was playing a video game.
Reporting by Austin L. Miller, Ocala Star-Banner / Ocala Star-Banner
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Austin L. Miller, Ocala Star-Banner | USA TODAY Network
