No retrial in case of Navy airman shooting

Attempted murder charge dropped at victim's request

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man sentenced to 30 years in prison on an armed robbery conviction in the shooting of a Navy airman will not be retried for attempted murder in the case.

The jury in Courtney Phillips' case deadlocked on the attempted murder in the 2012 shooting of Brett Parks, who lost his leg.

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Parks testified that he was sure Phillips was the man who shot him on Oct. 17, 2012.

He was at a Southside apartment complex when he heard a man scream for help. Parks testified that the man told him he had been robbed, so Parks tried to stop the robber, who ended up shooting him.

Parks showed the jury what that bullet cost him. He now walks with a prosthetic leg. He also told the jury that when he saw Phillips' picture on TV, and from police, he knew that was the man who pulled the trigger.

“It wasn't a fear but it was more like an, ‘I've seen him.’ Ever since that day I've dreamed about him. Every time I close my eyes he is there,” Parks said when Phillips was sentenced last year.

The State Attorney's Office has dropped the attempted murder charge against Phillips, at Parks' request.

The SAO released a statement about the decision:

After discussing the pending case with the victim and the possibility of a retrial, the victim said he would prefer not to go through another trial and wanted to get on with his life. The State then decided it was in the best interest of the victim to not proceed on the attempted first-degree murder charge. Due to the fact the defendant was tried, convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison, the victim felt justice was served. If the armed robbery conviction comes back on appeal, the state will refile the attempted first-degree murder charge. As for the attempted felony murder charge, the state was not proceeding on this count."

Public defender Matt Shirk filed a complaint of prosecutorial misconduct against assistant state attorney Peter Overstreet, but the Florida Bar rejected the complaint.