A week shy of his 18th birthday, suspect shot and killed an acquaintance after an argument over rap music and drugs.
A Florida man shot and killed an acquaintance after arguing over rap music and drugs. It will now cost him his freedom for decades.
Recently, 7th Judicial Circuit Court Judge Raul Zambrano sentenced Kevin Simons-Stokes to life in prison for the shooting death of Daemon Carn. Simon-Stokes was found guilty and convicted by a jury of first-degree premeditated murder and possession of a firearm by a delinquent.
On July 9, 2019, just a week shy of the defendant’s 18th birthday, Simons-Stokes drove a gray BMW while chasing Carn in a Toyota along Weaver Street and Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard in Volusia County, Florida.
Multiple witnesses testified that after Carn crashed the Toyota seeing Simons-Stokes open his window and firing at the victim. The defendant was aided by an accomplice who also shot at the victim from the sunroof of the BMW. Amidst the commotion, one of the 28 bullets shot hit Carn in his lower back. He was rushed to Halifax Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
"They unleashed a hail of rounds with their firearms in the direction of the victim," stated Zambrano, according to The Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Authorities believed the motive behind the slaying stemmed from an argument between Simons-Stokes and 19-year-old Carn over rap music and drugs prior to the incident.
Simons-Stokes was arrested two months later by U.S. Marshals. However, authorities have been unable to identify the defendant’s accomplice.
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Then, being 17-years-old and a week shy of his 18th birthday was instrumental towards a favorable life sentence with the possibility of parole. The sentence was due to a Florida law that does not allow a minor to be sentenced to life without parole.
Prosecutors filed a motion for a new trial, but Zambrano denied their request.
According to Click Orlando.com, Zambrano sentenced Simons-Stokes to an additional 15 years in prison for the firearm possession as a delinquent conviction. However, the defendant was ordered to serve the additional sentence at the same time as the life term.
Simons-Stokes will be eligible for parole after spending 25 years in prison.
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