JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man accused of orchestrating the murder of a witness in his burglary trial is prepared for the trial to begin to next week, his attorney said at a court hearing Wednesday.
Jecorian McCray, 23, was arrested Friday on a charge of murder and is being held without bond at the Duval County Jail.
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According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, McCray masterminded the shooting death a longtime University of North Florida employee, 48-year-old Jonathan Brenton.
Brenton was found dead inside his home on VC Johnson Road just before 3 a.m. Sept. 21.
According to court records, Brenton and his wife were due to testify later that day at the trial of McCray, who is accused of burglarizing the home, which is on a dead-end road north of Dunn Avenue.
A jury for McCray's burglary trial was seated Monday, but after Brenton's slaying, the trial was postponed until next week.
"We are still prepared to move forward with the trial. We would, however, ask that the jury is brought back to engage in an individual inquiry of a juror and if it would affect their ability to be impartial," said Russell McCormick, McCray's attorney, to the judge Wednesday.
Wednesday's hearing mostly centered around whether the jury for McCay's pending burglary trial may be biased now that the media reported that he's charged with orchestrating the murder of a key witness.
McCray was facing a long sentence if convicted in the burglary trial because of a notice filed by prosecutors this week, saying he was a habitual offender.
"If the court makes the determination he's qualified, then they could enhance his punishment and sentence him to several decades for what he's charged with," said Gene Nichols, an attorney not affiliated with the case.
Nichols said McCray's defense lawyer will push for a quick trial with a key witness now dead. He also said there will be pre-trial discussion about whether McCray can get an impartial jury since there is a lot of publicity on his murder charge.
"A judge must make a determination of what's going on in the press. Not only is there talk, there's always talk, but it is of such a negative impact against the defendant that it will, in essence, taint jurors," Nichols said.
Both sides in the burglary case will meeting again at a hearing Friday to determine whether the trial can start next week.
Detectives investigating the homicide of Brenton listened to jail recordings of McCray talking on the phone with his 17-year-old brother, Dakarai Maxwell, and heard them talking about getting McCray's 21-year-old girlfriend, Teirany Shelton, to visit the Brentons and ask him to take back his statements about the burglary because McCray was "looking at 30 years."
"When he learned the bribery didn't work (Tuesday night), he told Dakarai that he needed to kill him," JSO Lt. Steve Gallaher said. "He walked Dakarai step-by-step through the process of how to kill him. In the morning, the murder occurred, just like he was instructed to do."
Acting on information in those recordings, police obtained arrest warrants charging McCray and Maxwell with murder, 19-year-old Demetris Ford with criminal conspiracy and Shelton with tampering with a witness.
"He convinced them that they needed to convince the Brentons to either change their story or not testify," Gallaher said.
Prosecutors said home surveillance video showed McCray and Maxwell, who were acquaintances of Brenton's daughter, inside in the home on Jan. 29. According to the police report, jewelry, checks and prescription painkillers were taken in the burglary.
When News4Jax went by the Brenton home Wednesday, there was a huge pile of trash and furniture at the curb and in a dumpster. On the top of the trash heap was a wood door filled with bullet holes and police evidence markers still affixed to it.