Marion County Sheriff's Office charge man in 2020 shooting death of 15-year-old boy
A Silver Springs Shores man has been taken into custody by law enforcement officials and charged with the 2020 shooting death of a 15-year-old boy.
Dejon Traique Rashard Woods was booked into the Marion County Jail late Friday night and was present for his first appearance in front of County Judge Lori Cotton on Saturday afternoon at the facility. Woods is charged with homicide, negligent manslaughter of a child.
Cotton increased Woods' bond from $30,000 to $75,000, citing concerns that he was arrested a few weeks before, and roughly a couple of months after the shooting.
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Kyrion Weathers
Local court records show Woods was adjudicated guilty in 2020 for several offenses including fleeing or attempting to elude a law enforcement officer and carrying a concealed firearm. He served time in the county jail for the charges.
Woods told the judge that he was going to hire a lawyer, and his next court date was set for June.
Deputies said Woods was arrested following a traffic stop along Baseline Road. He was a passenger in the vehicle that was reported stolen. The vehicle was driven by an 18-year-old woman, deputies said.
Woods, 20, is alleged to have shot Kyrion Weathers once in the chest with a handgun nearly two years ago, according to an arrest report. The victim was transported to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, formally known as Ocala Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, the report states.
Marion County Sheriff's Office deputies recovered the gun reportedly used in the shooting in the bushes not far from a residence where the incident occurred. The gun, a 38 Special, was entered in their database as stolen, law enforcement officials said. Another firearm, described as a 9 mm Smith & Wesson M&P Shield handgun, also was found in the bushes. Both guns were loaded, authorities said.
At the time of his death, school officials said Weathers was a former student at Trinity Catholic High School and was scheduled to attend Forest High School this fall.
Marion County detective's report
From the report, Detective Joseph Miller said deputies were called to the 15100 block of Southeast 104th Court in Summerfield on July 26, 2020, in reference to a shooting. Miller interviewed Woods who said Weathers, another male and himself, were at the home when the shooting occurred. He said a girl — identified at the time as a 16-year-old — also was there, but left before the shooting.
Woods said they were in the bedroom playing a game when he stepped out of the room to get a drink. He said he heard "a pop go off" and saw Weathers stumbling out of the back bedroom holding his chest. He said Weathers was yelling repeatedly to "call the police," according to the report.
He said the other male who was there ran away without saying anything. Unable to call 911 because his phone was not working, Woods said he went to a neighbor's house and asked for help. Woods said there were no arguments between them and everyone was playing video games.
Woods denied handling or shooting a gun, Miller's report said. He claimed the other male who was there was playing with the gun and had it on his lap while they were playing video games.
Girl's interview with MCSO
Deputies said they got permission from Woods' mother to process the residence. Inside, Miller said he saw drops of blood around the house.
Miller interviewed the teenage girl who was at the residence. She said she was dating Woods. She said Woods, Weathers and herself were the only three people at the residence at the time of the shooting. The teenager said Woods and Weathers were playing video games in the bedroom when she heard a loud bang. The teen said Weathers walked out of the bedroom and yelled at them to call 911. She said Weathers fell on the ground and they tried talking to him.
Asked if anyone was with Weathers when the shooting took place, Miller's report notes that she hesitated before answering no. She said Woods was in the living room when they heard the gunshot. She said the phones were not working so they went to a neighbor's residence to get help.
She said she put the guns in a towel, went outside and hide them in the bushes. She said she hid them because she did not want Weathers to get into any trouble. She said no one told her to hide the guns.
The girl said she did not know about a third male — mentioned by Woods — at the incident location. She told Miller that only Weathers, Woods and herself were at the residence.
Deputies collected swabs from Woods and the girl, according to the report.
Woods re-interviewed by Sheriff's Office
Miller again interviewed Woods about his previous statements. He insisted that another male was at the residence and gave the detective a description. Woods told the detective that he thought the other male had the gun that was used in the shooting.
Woods said he doesn't believe there were any other weapons in the residence. He again denied shooting Weathers, and said he didn't know the girl's whereabouts during the shooting.
Four days after the shooting, Miller was given a surveillance video that showed someone wearing similar clothing as the girl putting something in the bushes. Miller said the guns were found at the same spot where the person was seen in the video.
In August, Miller again interviewed the girl who told the detective that she told him the truth.
Continuing with his investigation, the Medical Examiner's Office informed Miller that Weather's death was caused by a single gunshot wound to the chest and the manner was listed as a homicide.
In September 2020, the detective received a Florida Department of Law Enforcement report about the projectile recovered from Weathers. The report indicates that the projectile came from the 38 Special.
In late March 2021, the girl told Miller she was not truthful during her interview. She said she was in the living room and Woods and Weathers were playing around the hallway with the guns. She said while they were playing around with the guns close to each other, Weathers was shot.
She said Weathers and Woods were not arguing and believes the shooting was an accident. She said Weather, Woods and herself were the only three people in the residence. She also said she and Woods were no longer dating. She was not arrested.
Miller said her statement appears to corroborate with physical evidence — blood drops — found at the scene.
The detective interviewed numerous people, and completed multiple search warrants for cellphone and social media data on information about the shooting. FDLE officials were consulted on forensic evidence. Miller was unable to find the other male who Woods said was present at the time of the shooting. Miller believes Woods made up that individual.
Accidental shootings in Marion County
It's not the first time law enforcement officials have arrested teenagers for playing around with guns that killed someone.
Early last month, Belleview Police Department officers charged two 17-year-old boys with the shooting death of Christopher Leroy Broad, 16, who was shot and killed inside a residence.
Officers said Broad and one of the 17-year-olds took turns wearing a bulletproof vest and shooting at it when Broad was shot in an area not covered by the armored clothing. Police charged one of the teens with shooting the victim and the other with making a false report of a crime. Prosecutors charged the boys as adults.
Weeks later, Ocala police officers arrested the 17-year-old boys and two others — one 19, the other 16 -— in connection with a drive-by shooting at a residence. No one was injured or hurt in the shooting, officials said.
— Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Silver Springs Shores man charged in 2020 fatal shooting
