Tampa teen sentenced to 55 years in 2024 killing of 15-year-old boy
Teen sentenced in 2024 Jevario Buie murder
A Tampa teenager convicted of luring a 14-year-old to a deadly ambush two years ago will now spend decades in prison. A judge handed down that sentence Friday for Jahmir Moore. He was in court Friday morning and so were the family members of the boy killed. FOX 13's Aaron Mesmer reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A Hillsborough County judge sentenced a Tampa teenager to 55 years in prison for killing another boy two years ago.
Hillsborough County court sentencing
What we know:
Jahmir Moore was 15 years old when he shot and killed Jevario Buie, 14, according to investigators. Moore, now 17, must serve at least 25 years behind bars before he has the opportunity to be released. The judge cited Moore's age as a reason for not imposing a life sentence.
Tampa murder investigation timeline
The backstory:
Surveillance video from 2024 showed Moore and Buie walking together shortly before Buie's death. Minutes later, Moore was seen without Buie. Investigators believe Moore lured Buie to the area where his body was found near railroad tracks around Busch Boulevard and Rome Avenue, then ambushed and killed him.
It took police nearly a year to arrest Moore. He has denied pulling the trigger.
Pictured: Jevario Buie.
Emotional testimony from victim's family
What they're saying:
During Friday's sentencing hearing, Buie's family delivered emotional testimony and asked the judge to impose a life sentence. Buie's grandfather, Michael Baldwin Sr., spoke directly to Moore about accountability and the lasting pain caused by the killing.
"Real courage isn't pulling the trigger, young man. Real courage is looking at the devastation that you caused and saying, 'I did that. I took that life. I caused that pain. And there's nothing that I can say or do to undo it,'" Baldwin said. "That is where accountability begins. Until you can do that, you may be alive and breathing, but you will remain in prison."
Buie's mother, Jasmine Baldwin, remembered her son for his playful personality, laugh and smile.
"Vario was always playful, like he just did a lot of funny stuff, like I miss his laugh. I miss his voice, like, it replays my head when he calls me mommy, and his smile," she said.
Pictured: Jahmir Moore.
Although the sentencing marks an important milestone for the family, Baldwin Sr. said it does not bring closure.
"This is an important chapter to close, we were tired of dealing with it, tired of hearing like the experience, tired of having to see his family and him, you know? Like, just this whole process is an important piece to close. But there is no closure," he said.
Moore's mother also spoke in court, saying her son is not a monster and that her family feels remorse over what happened.
Baldwin Sr. said he hopes to see whether Moore changes while serving his sentence. He also expressed concern about the circumstances surrounding the killing and Moore's alleged lack of remorse.
"If I am still alive, then I will be there to see if he has changed and if he hasn't, then we will continue to push for him to stay inside, because what he has done to Jevario, even at the age of 15, everybody in society should really be concerned that we got 15-year-olds with a mental capacity to do what he'd done to our grandson," Baldwin said. "It's insane, right? And to not have any remorse, to not show any feelings toward that, we should all be troubled."
The Source: Information for this story came from a sentencing hearing Friday for Jahmir Moore, interviews with Jevario Buie’s family after the hearing and previous reporting on the case.