Pensacola man convicted of killing Brownsville teen robbery accomplice, but not of murder

It took just over two hours for an Escambia County jury to return to the courtroom Friday and announce their decision in the murder case of a Brownsville teen.

Tymetryon Knight, a 20-year-old man from Pensacola, was indicted for the first-degree felony murder of 17-year-old Broderick Moultrie in 2021, but the jury found the state only proved manslaughter beyond a reasonable doubt.

Knight was also convicted of attempted robbery with a firearm.

Trial ready: Broderick Moultrie was fatally shot in Brownsville. His alleged killer is ready for trial.

Under Florida law, Knight's original murder charge carried a mandatory minimum life sentence if convicted, but with the jury's decision he now faces up to 30 years in prison. He also faces up to 25 years in prison for his attempted robbery charge.

Circuit Judge Coleman Robinson set Knight's sentencing date for Nov. 16.

What happened on Dec. 9, 2021?

Although Moultrie was the person to die that night, he was not the target of the attempted robbery. Moultrie was a casualty of his own planned robbery of Orion Banks with Knight and Mekhi Lee.

Moultrie was in the front seat of Banks' vehicle and began to steal his firearm, and at that point Banks hit the gas, prosecutors said. While fleeing the alleged robbery and Moultrie hanging out of the passenger door, either Knight or Lee or both began shooting toward the truck, striking Moultrie in the abdomen.

"Based off forensic evaluation of this entire case as well as sworn statements obtained, I am able to determine that Tymetryon Knight, Mekhi Lee and Broderick Moultrie coordinated a robbery attempt on Orion Banks," a law enforcement report says, "and that during the robbery, Broderick Moultrie was struck and killed by gunfire that came from either Tymetryon Knight or Mekhi Lee while firing at the fleeing red Chevrolet Camaro by Orion Banks."

During the trial, former District 1 Associate Medical Examiner Timothy Gallagher said Moultrie likely fell unconscious in minutes from blood loss, followed by his death shortly after.

What was the state's argument for convicting Tymetryon Knight?

Assistant State Attorney Amy Shea told the jury she believed there was enough evidence to prove Knight tried to rob Banks on Baggett Court in Pensacola, saying Knight himself admitted he and the other two men were trying to rob the man.

"Under the circumstances of this case, the fact that Tymetryon Knight admits that it's a robbery, that they are out there conducting a robbery, and (Moultrie) is killed in the course of the robbery, that is felony murder right there," she told the jury during her closing statement. "Are you going to believe that he said, 'No, I didn't have anything to do with it'?"

According to video taken from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office interrogation room, Knight tells investigators that he wasn't a part of the "rip," another name for robbery, and that he only went along to make sure nothing happened to Moultrie or Lee.

Knight arrested: One suspect arrested, one still at-large in fatal shooting of 17-year-old in Brownsville

What was Tymetryon Knight's rebuttal to the state's accusations?

Knight's attorneys, Greg Wise and Shachar Spiegel, argued that there was no evidence to prove their client had knowledge of the robbery or that he helped.

"There's been no proof that Tymetryon had knowledge there was going to be a robbery or did any act in furtherance of any robbery," Wise told the jury. "The state used the term "maybe" repeatedly during their argument. Well, the result can't be based on "maybe" — have they proved it, or have they not?"

Wise and Spiegel attacked the merits of the state's evidence of a robbery, since Knight's felony murder charge requires the robbery, meaning if the jury found Knight not guilty of attempted robbery then by law they would have to find him not guilty of felony murder.

Wise also pointed to the investigators' tactics of interrogating Knight, saying his client was repeatedly lied to and asked leading questions to admit to an attempted robbery. During the interview, Knight would frequently answer investigators with "I guess" before providing an answer, leading Wise to argue that the answers were not accurate.

What will happen to Mekhi Lee?

An Escambia County grand jury indicted Lee with first-degree felony murder and attempted robbery with a firearm on Jan. 2, 2022, for his alleged role in the attempted robbery of Banks and death of Moultrie.

He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison if convicted of his felony murder charge. His next court date is scheduled for Nov. 29.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Brownsville teen Broderick Moultrie's killer guilty of manslaughter