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Courtroom chaos as witness refuses to testify
16-year-old who's accused of killing another teen had a pre-trial detention hearing in Tampa on Thursday. FOX 13's Kylie Jones reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A 16-year-old who's accused of killing another teen had a pre-trial detention hearing in Tampa on Thursday.
James Middlebrooks, 16, is accused of shooting Jonathan Blue, 19, during an alleged drug deal.
The backstory:
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says it got a 911 call around 1:20 a.m. on March 15 about a shooting on White Chicory Drive in Apollo Beach.
Courtesy: Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office
Deputies say they found a car crashed in a ditch nearby in Ruskin. Blue was found shot in the chest in the car, and a 20-year-old woman was found in the car with injuries from the crash.
According to detectives, security camera footage from a neighbor captured Blue's car outside a home on White Chicory Drive. Two people were reportedly seen outside the car, then a woman was heard screaming.
Victim Jonathan Blue Courtesy: Trinity Hammond
Detectives say the shooting happened during a planned drug deal.
HCSO identified Middlebrooks as the suspected shooter.
What they're saying:
"This is a case where we have one person dead and another seriously injured over marijuana," the prosecutor said.
Middlebrooks' public defender asked the judge to give him bond, saying that his family feared for his safety because of this case, so they moved to a different part of the state.
"There's no indication that Mr. Middlebrooks is any type of flight risk, since his family lives in Florida," Middlebrooks' public defender said. "He is 16 years old. He doesn't have a prior criminal history."
Dig deeper:
While this hearing was going on, a witness in this case was at the center of a chaotic scene in a different courtroom.
Freddrick Cook was held in contempt, after a judge says he refused to talk with prosecutors about this case.
The judge says Cook received a subpoena and was given immunity, so he's required to answer the state's questions, although he continuously said in the courtroom that he wasn't going to tell prosecutors anything.
After an outburst in court, Cook was given more time behind bars.
What's next:
The judge ordered Middlebrooks to be held behind bars without bond on the murder charge.
The Source: Information for this story came from a pre-trial detention hearing and contempt hearing in Hillsborough County court.