Dirt bike shooting trial pushed back to May as lawyer focuses on health

The teenager is expected to appear in court in early May in connection with a 2019 shooting that wounded a 17-year-old classmate and killed a 21-year-old man.

According to court records, 19-year-old Darion Lee has been charged with second-degree murder with a firearm and attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. Both are life sentences.

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What happened in November 2019?

Lee, who was 16 at the time, was arrested in November 2019 after he turned himself in after a shootout. The affidavit in the case states that the shooting was sparked by an ongoing dispute over an off-road motorcycle between Lee and a classmate, both students at Triad Sarasota alternative school.

A classmate told investigators that Lee believed he had stolen the off-road motorcycle.

When police arrived at the scene, the two victims were lying on the ground near a large pool of blood, it was reported at the time. Le’Coavius ​​Claridy, 21, identified Lee as the shooter, and both victims were taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

Lee was initially charged with two counts of attempted murder, but Claridy died from his injuries.

A previous Sarasota Herald-Tribune report said teacher Vivian Heggs heard threats three days before the shooting, but only reported it after the incident. At the time, Lee was suspended for two days because he couldn’t calm down.

How the matter progressed

On August 15, 2022, Assistant State’s Attorney Kennedy Legler filed a motion to use similar evidence that is used to establish a pattern of a defendant’s past behavior or misconduct.

Among some of the evidence the state wanted to present was a series of photos and videos found by police on Lee’s phone months before the shooting, as well as an incident in May 2019 in which Lee was accused of threatening to shoot two bystanders who told him to slow down. down as he drove. According to the document, the victims chose Lee from the photo queue and described the firearm to the police.

The story goes on

In response, Lee’s defense argued that the state’s notices to present similar evidence of fact and offer inextricably intertwined evidence of the accused crime were “an affront to Mr. Lee’s right to confront under the 6th Amendment, his myriad due process rights, and his overarching right to to a fair trial.”

What’s next for the case

The jury trial was expected to take place in February, but the trial date was pushed back to early May due to ongoing health problems with one of Li’s lawyers.

The extension will give the lawyer enough time to recover and feel “the full benefit of her operations” so that she can continue to represent Li effectively.

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-free donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at [email protected] or call Twitter.

This article originally appeared in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota Trial for Fatal Shooting Over Off-Road Motorcycle Controversy Moved to May.

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