Teen accused of killing fellow student with a sword asks judge to dismiss murder charge
A former Miramar High School student accused of killing a romantic rival by driving a sword through his chest to end a brutal beating is asking a judge to dismiss his murder case because, according to his lawyer, his indictment never gets around to accusing him of committing a crime.
Andre Clements, 19, has been held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail since his arrest two years ago. Police said he orchestrated the murder of fellow student Dwight “DJ” Grant after he found out Grant had sex with an ex-girlfriend.
The Oct. 17, 2021 murder shocked the community where the 31-minute assault took place. According to investigators, Clements and a female friend lay in wait for him at the New Park Towers in Miramar, armed with a small knife and a sword. Another friend, Christie Parisien, 17 at the time, allegedly lured the victim to the scene with the promise of a sexual encounter. When he arrived, the beating began. Jaslyn Smith, 16 at the time, held the victim as Clements delivered blow after painful blow, while Parisien served as lookout.
According to police reports, the victim gave up hope after Clements stabbed him in the neck. He asked his assailants to “end it for him.” Clements gave the sword to Smith, but she refused to commit the murder, police said, so Clements ran the sword through the victim’s chest.
The sword was never recovered, though it is seen on surveillance footage at the apartment complex. The footage is expected to be shown to a jury when the case goes to trial.
Two years later, little new information has been released. Parisien, Smith and Clements are expected to go on trial in May, with lawyers for the two women asserting in court that they had no idea Clements wanted to kill Grant.
According to court records, Clements and Smith burned the clothes they were wearing shortly after the murder.
Police have released text messages between Clements and Parisien discussing the murder plot days before the slaying. Parisien later told investigators she thought Clements was angry but “joking.”
Defense lawyer Joe Kimok, representing Clements, argued in a motion filed Tuesday that the indictment against his client is legally inadequate.
“In the body of the charge,” he wrote, “[none] of the three defendants’ names are alleged as having committed an offense … By failing to name Mr. Clements in the body of the charges in the indictment, the state has failed to charge him with a crime.”
All three defendants are named in the subheadings over each count of the indictment, but it will be up to Broward Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra to determine if that is legally sufficient to address Kimok’s assertion.
No date has been set to hear arguments on the motion. The Broward State Attorney’s Office will respond to the motion in court and will not comment on a pending case, office spokeswoman Paula McMahon said.
So far, Clements’ co-defendants have not joined in his motion. Efforts to reach Parisien’s lawyer Wednesday were unsuccessful. Smith’s lawyer, Johnny McCray, said he hasn’t seen the motion. “My client thought a battery was about to take place,” he said. “She didn’t know Clements had a sword. The first time she saw it was at the scene, and she thought they were just going to scare him with it.”
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.
