Jury deliberations begin Friday morning in the trial for Demetrius O’Neil, one of the accused in the 2016 Club Blu shooting.

The shooting killed 14-year-old Sean Archilles and 18-year-oldStefan Strawder, injuring at least 14 others.

O’Neil is charged with three crimes: two counts of second-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit second-degree murder. The state must prove this beyond a reasonable doubt, and the jury will begin deliberating on a verdict on Friday.

On Thursday, the defense and state prosecutors delivered their closing arguments.

The state’s closing argument heavily relied on data from O’Neil’s phone, questioning why he tracked the whereabouts of members of the “Bottom Boys” and associated with Don Loggins, Kiera Russ, and Derrick Church. All are accused of involvement in the case. 

Prosecutors argued that O’Neil was part of the opposing group, “1Way,” and that text messages proved he intended to go to Club Blu on the night of the shooting.

Meanwhile, the defense’s closing argument questioned the reliability of witness descriptions and phone evidence, arguing that no one could definitively place O’Neil at the scene. The defense also argued that the guns and casings found at the scene cannot be traced back to 

O’Neil, stating “forensic evidence related to Club Blu fails.”

O’Neil is the second of five suspects to go to trial for the Club Blu shooting. Kierra Russ, another suspect, already went to trial in 2022. She was convicted and sentenced to life for acting as a lookout and signaling other members at the club.

Derrick Church will be the next to face trial after O’Neil, with a pre-trial date scheduled for November.

Don Loggins, one of the accused,pleaded no contest to conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, a first-degree felony, in court on Oct. 1. Loggins will serve 15 years in prison and spend 10 years on probation.

Loggins’ plea deal came two weeks after another suspect in the Club Blu case, Tajze Battle,also changed his plea to no contest and was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

 WINK News will update this story as the trial is underway on Friday.