JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The state called its final witness to the stand Tuesday in the trial of the 2020 murder of a local Jacksonville rapper over a diss track.
Charles McCormick Jr., also known as Lil Buck, was shot and killed outside of an Arlington shopping center on January 15, 2020.
Both Hakeem Robinson (aka Ksoo) and Leroy Whitaker Jr. (aka ATK Scotty) are charged with 1st degree murder in the shooting.
The state claims that Robinson, Whitaker, and Dominique Barner were inside a Nissan Altima on the day of the shooting. Whitaker and Barner are alleged to have broken into a woman’s house and held her hostage for over an hour.
Watch the testimony:
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Sgt. Chris Smith with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office served as the lead homicide detective for this case. He told jurors how he was able to link Robinson to the crime, including through DNA analysis of some of the items he found inside that car.
State Attorney’s Office: “Based on the results, did you have an investigatory lead that led to another potential suspect associated with the investigation?”
Sgt. Chris Smith: “Yes.”
State Attorney’s Office: “Alright, and what was that?”
Sgt. Chris Smith: “There was a print found on the Glock handgun that came back to Hakeem Robinson.”
Sgt. Smith also told jurors that DNA from the woman’s clothing came back positive for Dominique Barner and Leroy Whitaker Jr.
However, the defense attorney for Hakeem Robinson pointed out something about those fingerprint findings on the gun.
Chris DeCoste / Defense Attorney for Hakeem Robinson: “You have no way of saying that the fingerprint on the gun that was found inside of the car was left on the gun was even remotely close to January 15th, right?”
Sgt. Chris Smith: “No.”
It’s important to note that he didn’t arrest Hakeem Robinson right after he got the DNA evidence for the gun back. Robinson was arrested a few months later after Dominique Barner agreed to cooperate with investigators to testify against Robinson and Whitaker.
Whitaker’s defense attorney pointed out that the woman was only able to identify Dominique Barner as one of the people who allegedly entered her home that day and never identified Whitaker.
Julie Schlax / Attorney for Leroy Whitaker: You were made aware that (the woman) was never able to identify this second person in her home, correct?
Sgt. Chris Smith: That’s correct.
The defense for Hakeem Robinson, also known as Ksoo, called three witnesses to the stand, two of whom we cannot identify for safety purposes.
The witness we can identify was Sgt. Howell with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The defense claims that Howell saw Robinson on January 14, 2020 — the day before Charles McCormick Jr. was shot and killed.
The defense team for Robinson asked Sgt. Howell to describe how Robinson looked physically that day. This is key, because witnesses have described the shooter to be under 6 feet tall, while Robinson is listed as 6′3″, according to court records.
Tuesday, we learned that the state attorney’s office has dropped Whitaker Jr.’s home invasion robbery charge and merged it with his Burglary to a dwelling with assault or battery charge.
Leroy Whitaker Jr.’s defense attorney said she will not be calling up any witnesses. Whitaker also told the judge he will not be testifying in this trial.
The judge also denied a motion for acquittal on the charges for both Robinson and Whitaker.
Testimony resumes Wednesday.
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