There was plenty of drama in a Miami-Dade courtroom Monday as the trial of a man charged in a 2013 murder at a North Miami motel got underway, with jurors getting to watch shocking surveillance footage of the killing and a second suspect who already pleaded guilty refusing to testify.
There was plenty of drama in a Miami-Dade courtroom Monday as the trial of a man charged in a 2013 murder at a North Miami motel got underway, with jurors getting to watch shocking surveillance footage of the killing and a second suspect who already pleaded guilty refusing to testify.
Anthawn Ragan, now 30, was just 18 when he was allegedly involved in the Nov. 1, 2013 killing of 21-year-old Luis Perez at the Motel 7 at 13445 Northwest 7th Avenue.
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WATCH HERERagan's trial got underway Monday, with opening statements delivered and jurors watching footage of Perez being shot at point-blank range by two gunmen on a second-floor balcony.
Prosecutors said one of those gunmen is Ragan, who's charged with first-degree murder.
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"Mr. Ragan walked down the hall, extended his arm, the evidence will show, gun at the end and shot Mr. Perez without warning, without provocation," a prosecutor said during openings.
Ragan's defense attorney said the first-degree murder charge is too harsh in the case.
"This shows a second-degree murder that someone is acting, and not thinking about their consequences. That someone takes an immediate response and it’s not well thought out, it is almost like a child making an irrational decision," the defense attorney said.
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Prosecutors said Terry Allen Nealy, now 33, was the second gunman. Nealy had previously pleaded guilty and had agreed to testify in Ragan's trial, but apparently had a change of heart on Monday.
"Are you willing to testify?" Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez asked.
"No," Nealy responded.
"Even after the court orders you to testify, are you now refusing to testify?" Mendez asked.
"I never even asked to testify against Anthawn Ragan," Nealy said.
Ragan has a lengthy criminal history and is facing charges in another fatal shooting, of a 10-year-old named Aaron Vu.
Authorities said Ragan shot Vu during a robbery of Vu's parents' nail salon weeks after the motel murder.
Ragan's trial is expected to continue Tuesday. If convicted in the Perez shooting, Ragan could face the death sentence.
