On Wednesday a jury could decide the fate of a man accused of shooting a young boy riding a bicycle. Prosecutors said Daquan “Bobo” Butts shot a man during an argument in Sanford back on September 4, 2014.
Testimony began Tuesday morning in Butts’ trial. As soon as Jeremiah Taylor took the stand, it was easy to see just how difficult it was for the 11-year-old to testify in front of the man accused of shooting him. He was so upset, at one point he wouldn’t even answer questions from prosecutors.
“You remember telling us what happened then? You don’t want to be here today, Jeremiah?” asked Assistant State Attorney Anna Valentini.
“Nope,” said Taylor.
Prosecutors said Butts is actually friends with Jeremiah’s father. But despite the courtroom pressure, after taking a break in testimony Jeremiah identified Butts as the man who shot him in the stomach.
“So he shot the boy he was fighting with in the butt, and then what else happened?” asked Valentini.
“He shot it again and then he hit me,” said Taylor.
Investigators say the then 10-year-old got caught in the crossfire when Butts got into a fight with another man while playing basketball. They said Butts grabbed a gun from a car and opened fire – eventually hitting the man – and hitting Jeremiah.
While several witnesses testified they saw Butts at the scene, crime scene investigators never found a gun, and were not able to link Butts to shell casings found at the scene.
Prosecutors wrapped up their case Tuesday. On Wednesday, defense attorneys are expected to call their witnesses. A jury could get the case by Wednesday afternoon.