Prosecutors contend Blayze Jurien White, Zayshawn Lee Lamar Webb and Frederick Bernard Lowe are responsible for the shooting death of Derrick “DJ” Brown in the summer of 2024. White is currently on trial.
White’s lawyer said there are no eyewitnesses, no evidence tying his client to the slaying, and the prosecution case is circumstantial.
Those opposing views were presented to jurors on June 16 in opening statements on the first day of testimony in White’s murder trial.
Here’s what we know:
Judge: Retired Senior Judge Willard Pope.
Lawyers: Assistant State Attorney Amy Berndt and Rich Buxman. Representing White is Jonathan Mills.
Charge: First-degree murder.
About the case: White, 23, Webb, 19, and 22-year-old Lowe are accused of involvement in the shooting death of Brown the night of June 23, 2024.
The Ocala Police Department said Brown, 24, was playing video games at his residence, located in the 2800 block of Northeast Eighth Terrace, when he was shot.
White and his two co-defendants were indicted by a grand jury in February 2025, charged with first-degree murder. Webb’s and Lowe’s cases are ongoing.
Even if White is acquitted at trial, he still must serve a 60-year prison term for a probation violation.
Is White in or out of jail? In jail since his December 2024 arrest.
Opening statements
Berndt gave the opening statement for the prosecution. The prosecutor said while Brown was playing video games, he was “completely unaware of the danger” lurking outside.
She said multiple bullets shattered a window and Brown, who was in the living room, was shot.
Berndt said Brown’s family members, including children, were in the residence at the time of the shooting. His sister checked on her children, her mother and brother.
As she called 911, their mother yelled at Brown to get up. There was no answer, the prosecutor said. A neighbor came to the home and performed CPR on Brown while waiting for first responders.
One shot hit Brown in the back of the head. Brown was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Ocala Police officials recovered 18 .40-caliber shell casings outside the residence. Bullets pierced the kitchen, a toaster, the cabinets and next door, where a man and his children were living, according to the prosecutor.
Berndt said detectives found out that White had used Lowe’s personal information to rent a vehicle. The detectives found the vehicle’s owner, and later were led to a Marion County residence.
There, police officials found a .40-caliber handgun and other items. They contacted the person living at the home and were told that White, Lowe and a third person were at the residence.
A week after the shooting death, Marion County Sheriff’s deputies found another .40-caliber handgun in a vehicle that was in a park after hours.
The guns were sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for examination. According to the state, there was a match between the guns and the shell casings discovered at the crime scene.
Also, according to the prosecution, White’s DNA was found on the firearms.
In his opening statement, defense attorney Mills said while the death was tragic and unfortunate, there’s no physical evidence connecting his client to the shooting.
He said no one saw White shooting anyone.
He asked jurors to pay close attention to the state’s case, which he said lacks crucial pieces of information or evidence that would connect White to the death.
He said prosecutors are painting White in a bad light, and asked jurors to keep an open mind, and not rush to judgment.
Day 1 Testimony
Several people, including Brown’s sister, testified for the prosecution and described what happened at the time of the shooting. Brown’s sister was emotional talking about that night. A woman who performed CPR on Brown cried when describing what happened.
A few witnesses told the court they heard footsteps, followed by a barrage of gunshots. Cross-examined by the defense, the witnesses said they didn’t look outside and never saw anyone shooting.
Prosecutors, who took turn questioning witnesses, showed photographs taken by police crime scene technicians indicating the shots were fired from outside.
One photograph showed a cluster of small yellow crime scene markers outside a window where police believe the shots originated.
Displayed on several large-screen TV monitors were photos of shoe and tire impressions found outside and close to the crime scene.
In the afternoon, the prosecution team offered into evidence a picture of White holding his driver’s license while he rented the vehicle. That vehicle’s tracking device also was examined.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Mills asked the lead detective whether surveillance footage showed who was driving the vehicle. The answer was no.
A woman who knew both White and Lowe said after police officials told her they wanted to speak with her, she contacted White. In her account, White told her not to tell law enforcement any information about him.
At the time, she said, she was in a relationship with White.
Cross-examined by the defense, the woman said she never identified White by name or volunteered that he occasionally lived with her. She said White never told her to lie, and the reason she didn’t want to deal with the police was because she didn’t want her landlord to know about the search warrant.
The day ended with testimony from a fingerprint examiner.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: State makes case in murder trial; defense says it’s all circumstantial
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
