No bail for man accused of killing his wife in Citra and then fleeing to Georgia
A man accused of killing his wife in northeast Marion County and then fleeing to Georgia, where he turned himself in, has returned to face charges.
Kenron Lamar Vereen was booked into the county jail April 7. Vereen is charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and tamper with physical evidence.
Vereen was indicted by a grand jury on March 28. Circuit Judge Lisa Herndon presided over the grand jury, and Assistant State Attorney Toby Hunt presented the case. Grand jury proceedings are closed, so details about what was said are not available.
For the first-degree murder charge, the state must secure a grand jury indictment, regardless of whether it will seek the death penalty. It's unknown if prosecutors plan to ask for the death penalty for Vereen.
Vereen is accused of fatally shooting 43-year-old Sherese Stafford on Feb. 27 in Citra.
At Vereen's first court appearance, held Monday in front of County Judge Lori Cotton, Assistant State Attorney Janine Nixon told the court Vereen has a criminal history in Florida and Georgia. The past charges include robbery and aggravated battery.
Vereen told the judge he surrendered to authorities in Georgia. He said he has been living in Marion County for all his life and his family lives here.
The judge told Vereen there was probable cause for his arrest and she's concerned for the public's safety. Though bail was granted for the two lesser offenses, the judge denied bail for the murder charge. It means Vereen won't be released even if bail is paid for the two other charges.
The judge appointed the Public Defender's Office to represent Vereen and set his next court date for May.
According to court records, Stafford filed paperwork seeking a dissolution of marriage one week before her death.
Vereen was released from prison in June 2009 after serving time for robbery. His criminal history includes arrests for attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery/domestic violence. All the charges against him were dropped, according to court documents.
In the attempted murder case, prosecutors noted that numerous witnesses refused to cooperate with authorities. Prosecutors said without eyewitnesses testimony, they could not move forward with the case.
Stafford's death is the county's second domestic violence murder for 2024. In 2023, there were seven domestic violence homicides, according to the Family Violence Prevention Workgroup.
Anyone who is involved in a domestic violence situation or knows of someone who is being abused can contact CASA Marion, Marion County's certified domestic violence provider, at (352) 722-CASA or 2272 (the agency hotline,) or visit the outreach office at 717 SW Martin Luther King Jr. Ave.
CASA officials said the 24-hour domestic violence hotline is free and confidential.
The shooting
Marion County Sheriff's deputies said they were called to the 16800 block of Northeast 41st Court shortly after 4 p.m. Feb. 27 in reference to a shooting.
When deputies got to the scene, Stafford was dead. Both Vereen and Stafford lived at the residence where the incident occurred, sheriff's officials said.
Witnesses told deputies that Vereen left the residence in a pickup truck. Although deputies located the vehicle, Vereen was not with it.
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Wayne County Sheriff’s Office officials in Jesup, Georgia, called Marion deputies several hours later to tell them that Vereen had walked into their station and turned himself in.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: First-degree murder indictment handed up against man in Citra shooting
