One teen fatally shot another in the head outside of Miami-Dade courtyard, police say
Two teens were sitting together in a Florida City courtyard Saturday morning, police said. Ten hours later, one would be dead; the other arrested on a murder charge.
Damarion Bailey was 15 years old. Police say he was shot and killed by Jeron Smith, who now has two felony arrests in the six months since he turned 18.
Smith sits in Miami-Dade Corrections custody on a second-degree murder charge. The murder charge alone prevents Smith from being granted bond, but he already was out on bond. Smith was arrested in April on a charge of firearm possession by a felon or delinquent, and posted $7,500 bond on May 22.
The shooting occurred in Florida City, where their police officers were first to the scene. But Miami-Dade police detectives handle homicide investigations there and many other municipalities, including Coral Gables.
Saturday’s tragedy began with Bailey and Smith sitting in the courtyard at 434 NW 13th St. in Florida City and two people riding past on bicycles, according to the arrest form. Smith, the report shows, began to shoot at them despite being “unprovoked.”
The guys on the bicycles dropped their bikes and ran, per the report. Meanwhile, Bailey got shot in the head as Smith “was shooting and retreating towards his residence.”
Smith, the report adds, waived his right to remain silent and “provided a detailed, video-recorded confession of his involvement” in Bailey’s death.
Police say Smith confirmed that the 9 mm gun that police found hidden behind an air conditioner was the one he fired earlier Saturday.
