JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - Prosecutors say a 17-year-old accused of killing a witness who was set to testify against his stepbrother in a home robbery will be tried as an adult.
Media outlets report the State Attorney's Office made the decision Monday in the case involving the teenage suspect, who along with 23-year-old Jecorian McCray is charged with murder in 48-year-old Joe Brenton's death.
Brenton was fatally shot at his home Sept. 21. He was scheduled to testify later that day against McCray, who is awaiting trial for breaking into Brenton's home in 2014 and stealing thousands of dollars in jewelry.
Investigators say McCray had become increasingly worried about a long jail sentence and was recorded on a jailhouse phone ordering his younger stepbrother to murder Brenton after efforts to bribe the witness failed.
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