A 23-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison after a Marion County jury found him guilty of the 2024 premeditated murder of an Ocala citizen.
Blayze Jurrien White was found guilty of premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm on Thursday, June 18. The victim was 24-year-old Derrick Lysander Brown Jr.
After the trial, White was promptly condemned to life in prison.
The conviction stems from a shooting that took place about two years ago, on Sunday, June 23, 2024. Around 11:25 p.m. that night, Ocala Police Department officers responded to a home in the 2800 block of NE 8th Terrace.
When medical workers arrived, they discovered Brown, known as DJ by family and friends, motionless on a couch with a gunshot wound to his head. He was transferred to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, where he died of his injuries.
A witness at the site claimed hearing gunshots, rescuing two little children, and seeing Brown dead after crawling into the living room.
During the initial scene examination, officials discovered that the living room window of the flat had been shot through several times. Crime scene technicians discovered spent shot casings, shoe prints, and vehicle tire treads in the grass behind the structure.
Surveillance footage and license plate reader data later revealed a Hyundai Elantra rushing out of the location, which detectives determined was hired by White using the TURO platform.
Police executed a search warrant at a property off Anthony Road after receiving GPS tracking data from the car, which revealed a weapon with the same caliber as the shells and rounds recovered at the crime scene.
Investigators discovered that the shooting was the consequence of a feud between White’s gang and a local gang with whom Brown was loosely affiliated. Authorities discovered that multiple people were engaged in the shooting, prompting the arrest of White and two co-defendants.
White was taken into jail on December 17, 2024. He has been incarcerated ever since then.
While White has been convicted and sentenced, legal proceedings against the remaining co-defendants are still ongoing, according to court records.
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