A South Florida man was found guilty Thursday afternoon of ambushing and killing a man outside a North Miami motel in 2013. NBC6’s Christian Colón reports
A South Florida man was found guilty Thursday afternoon of ambushing and killing a man outside a North Miami motel in 2013.
After about six hours of deliberating, jurors found 30-year-old Anthawn Ragan guilty of murdering 21-year-old Luis Perez at the Motel 7 at 13445 Northwest 7th Avenue.
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WATCH HEREFor the past four days, state attorneys tried convincing jurors that Ragan planned out a sophisticated plan and was caught on surveillance video surprising Perez and shooting him multiple times with his codefendant Terry Allen Nealy.
After the shooting, state attorney Arvind Singh stated in front of jurors that Ragan skipped away like a child.
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"It is very strange for someone to have skip in their step after doing what should be one of the hardest things to do. Point a gun at someone and pull the trigger multiple times," Singh said.
On top of Perez's murder, prosecutors were allowed to mention a 2019 incident where Ragan was convicted of attempting to kill a man named Kevin Burke. In 2023, records show Ragan was sentenced to 37 years.
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State attorneys were also allowed to tell jurors about the tragic shooting at a nail salon that happened weeks after the motel incident. Surveillance video allegedly also showed Ragan entering the salon while shooting. A 10-year-old boy named Aaron Vu was killed.
Jurors heard from Vu's father Hai, who told them he was shot in the shoulder and "hit with a gun." However, he was not allowed to mention that his son was murdered.
"This man is the man holding the gun at each of these incidents, and to further prove that on that day, October 31, 2013, he was also the man holding the gun and shooting Luis Perez," Singh said.
Nealy, the codefendant, was supposed to testify against Ragan per his 20-year prison deal offer he accepted; however, on the first day of tria,l he refused. Instead, jurors heard a statement from Nealy.
On the other hand, Ragan's attorney spent the trial balancing between casting doubt on their client not being the shooter and also stating that if he was the shooter, the correct charge would be second-degree murder rather than a first.
"Look at all the evidence and you do not think the state has proven a premeditated murder beyond a reasonable doubt, then you do not convict him of that," said Adam Goodman, Ragan's defense attorney.
Now that Ragan was convicted of first-degree murder, his case will enter the penalty phase next month, where jurors will hear more testimony and will eventually have to vote to recommend life or death as a sentence.
