A 20-year-old man was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder for gunning down another man in a shooting that a prosecutor said turned the Sunrise Pointe Apartments in Port Orange into something like a “war zone.”
McKenzy R. Nazien faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison for the killing of Ta’ronn Brown, 22, on Sept. 1, 2022. Nazien was also convicted of attempted first-degree premeditated murder because he shot at and missed Brandon Cox-Saunders, 24.
Circuit Judge A. Kathleen McNeilly presided over the trial at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand
The two men were members of separate groups working together on a debit card, check scam. A complaint by someone that they had been shorted $50 exploded into violence with Nazien shooting Brown and a huge gunfight breaking out in a part of the Sunrise Pointe Apartments on Richel Drive, according to Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak.
Nazien was 19 at the time of the shooting.
Urbanak likened it to “a war zone.” Investigators recovered 48 bullet casings of differing types from the scene. The prosecutor showed jurors photos of shell casings found in the parking lot, bullet holes in a car, bullet holes in a van and bullet holes in an apartment.
Urbanak said Brown was shot four times in the back. He said one of the bullets remained inside of him. It was a .40-caliber bullet.
Nazien’s defense attorney, Philip Massa, argued that everyone in both groups had guns, including Brown. The gun on Brown was found tucked low in his pants when investigators checked his body. Massa argued someone else had shot Brown.
Urbanak said Nazien lied numerous times when police questioned him.
The Port Orange Police Department issued a statement on Friday announcing the verdict and stating that the department had conducted a lengthy investigation identifying Nazien as the shooter and gathering evidence leading to his conviction.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza issued a statement: “The defendant shot our victim multiple times and at least forty rounds were expended during this shooting episode. It is nothing short of miraculous that more folks weren’t shot or killed. Another example of the disturbing trend of a teenager engaging in homicidal activity.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Man will face life in prison for murder at Port Orange apartments