It's the second time around for a 2008 Ocala murder case. After a mistrial in late January when a 12 member jury could not come to a unanimous verdict, 31 year old Adrian Brown sits before Judge Willard Pope once again this week. Brown is on trial for the first degree murder of his first cousin, 42 year old John Westley Brinson, in November 2008 over what prosecutors say was drugs and money. Opening statements were given Tuesday, and today, the sole eyewitness to the murder took the stand.
It was the third day for the Adrian Brown retrial. State prosecutors called Wendy Lavezzi, who performed the victim's autopsy. Lavezzi was followed by five Miami Dade police officers, who arrested Brown the day after the shooting.
Then came 22 year old Melissa Rivera in jail stripes and shackles on an unrelated charge. For the second time Rivera, recalled the night of November 25, 2008, when her then boyfriend, John Brinson, was shot in their bedroom.
Rivera says Brown was after her boyfriend's drugs and money. Rivera testified that at the time, she and Brown both lived off of Brinson's drug dealings. Rivera says Brown entered their bedroom and shot Brinson before chasing him out of the house and shooting him multiple times. Brinson's body was found across the street.