PANAMA CITY — A case of mistaken identity led to the broad daylight shooting death of a 17-year-old in what authorities called “a targeted attack,” prosecutors told jurors Tuesday.
In opening statements in a second-degree murder trial, prosecutors said their case would show Javares Cameron, 19, intended to shoot another man in October of last year when he killed 17-year-old Curtis Hunt. However, Cameron’s defense argued the bullet that ended Hunt’s life was fired in self-defense.
Prosecutor Bob Sombathy opened his case Tuesday by telling jurors that Cameron and 20-year-old Tyquan Anderson had “beef” about a stolen pistol and exchanged words the night before Oct. 14, 2014 when Hunt was shot in the back of the head outside Anderson’s home at 204 Kraft Avenue. Sombathy said Hunt was using the wifi connection from outside the house while waiting for a ride when he was mistaken for Anderson and killed.
“In broad daylight, Hunt is sitting on a bench … his back is to the road,” Sombathy told jurors. “Suddenly, through the back of his head comes a .40-caliber bullet … and he slumps forward — 17-years-old.”
However, defense attorney Kim Jewell set the scene differently. She told jurors that Anderson, Hunt and an unknown man shrouded in black clothes were outside Anderson’s home when the incident a took place. The unknown man jumped on Cameron. He pulled a gun in self-defense and fired blindly, Jewell told the jury.
“He had no idea where that bullet went — what it hit,” she said.
Anderson testified that was not the case, but the jury could have a difficult time accepting his testimony as truthful.
Anderson was brought out on the stand shackled and clad in the black and white stripes of inmate attire. He’s currently in jail for violating his probation on burglary charges. Anderson said the two men had a confrontation at the Bay County Fair over a stolen pistol. The night afterward, Anderson said he spotted Cameron “creeping” by the Kraft Avenue home.
“When we came out, he sped off,” he said. “That’s when I called to ask him why he was driving by my grandma’s house.”
Cameron came back to the home and talked with Anderson and another man present at the time. Cameron was dressed in all black with black gloves, Anderson said.
“We was outside and he asked a question: What we would do if one of our friends got killed,” he said. “It sounded like he was trying to be funny.”
Jewell highlighted that Anderson sent a text message to Cameron after the “so-called beef” to ask for a ride to Lynn Haven. Cameron declined and the next day was going to Anderson’s house to sell him some hats when he was attacked and forced to defend himself, Jewell said.
Cameron was arrested along with two, out of three, juveniles who rode along with him the day Hunt was gunned down. Capri Brooks, 15, and Isiah Grady, 16, have both said they were in the car when they heard a gunshot but did not see the shooting. All four fled officers when they were pulled over in Cameron’s car after the shooting.
The fourth suspect was never apprehended. But police found a trail of scattered guns, including one near where Cameron was arrested with traces of his DNA on the .40-caliber pistol.
Cameron is charged with second-degree murder and resisting officers without violence. He is expected to testify on his own behalf later in the trial. Cameron faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted.