Video: 15-year-old accused killer escapes; family of victim wants answers
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 17-year-old defendant was sentenced on Friday to more than five decades in prison after being convicted of killing a 14-year-old boy.
The Tampa Police Department responded to reports of gunfire on West Busch Boulevard in April 2024.
Officers arrived and found the victim, Jevario Buie, near the railroad tracks between Busch Boulevard and Rome Avenue.
Courtesy of the Tampa Police Department
Jahmir Moore, who was 15 years old at the time, was arrested in December 2024 after surveillance video showed he was seen with the victim just before the murder. Social media messages also showed Moore writing details about Buie’s death that were not publicly available, police said.
Moore escaped from a juvenile detention center in Hillsborough County just a few days after his arrest. Authorities recaptured him hours later near his parents’ home on West Keyes Avenue.
Moore was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to 55 years in prison.
“At today’s sentencing, Jevario’s mother remembered his goofy smile, his fun-loving spirit, and how her son would always ask her to watch him pop wheelies on his bicycle,” the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s Office wrote in a social media post. “His grandfather recalled how Jevario loved to challenge him to races even though he never quite got fast enough to beat Grandpa.”
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