Trial date set for 2 teens accused of murder of 16-year-old at JCPS bus stop in 2021

Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, Louisville Courier Journal
·3 min read

An intial trial date has been set for two teens charged over the 2021 fatal shooting of 16-year-old Tyree Smith at a Jefferson County Public Schools bus stop.

In a court hearing Thursday afternoon, Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Tracy E. Davis, the prosecutor and the defendants tentatively scheduled the start of the trial for April 16, 2024, to give both sides time to go through the discovery.

The two 17-year-old defendants, Demaurion Lakeith Moore and Mekhi Duane Cable, have also been accused of the murder of Cortez Duncan in November 2021 and an additional nonfatal shooting. They are being charged as adults over Smith's death.

"The concern is that everybody gets ready for trial. The commonwealth is ready to show that these two individuals are guilty of murder. That's what a trial is for," prosecutor Ryane Conroy said.

Conroy expects the trial will take two weeks, to give enough time to discuss all the incidents. She said there is a lot of evidence to go through in the discovery, including forensics and social media.

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Michael Ferraraccio, the attorney representing Moore, said he needs more time because he only gets one hour a day meet with his client.

"The staffing shortages that they have had there throughout the past year, even going back further, made it more difficult for me to communicate with my client, for him to review discovery for him to be properly prepared to go to trial, or to be fully aware of all of the evidence, you know, what the evidence is against him," Ferraraccio said.

Tyree Smith
Tyree Smith

Tyree was killed on Sept. 22, 2021, in a drive-by shooting at a bus stop in Louisville's Russell neighborhood where he was waiting along with other students. A 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were also injured in the early-morning shooting.

Cortez was shot multiple times a month later — in the early-morning hours of Nov. 25 — at a location in the 600 block of Hecks Lane. He was taken to University of Louisville Hospital in critical condition and died that morning. On the same day, officers responded to a nonfatal shooting of another 15-year-old around the corner in the 700 block of Dearborn Avenue. It was later determined the two teens were both shot at the Hecks Lane site.

The defendants in those shootings are facing the following charges:

  • Two counts of murder (complicity),

  • one count of criminal attempt murder (complicity),

  • one count of assault first degree (complicity),

  • one count of assault second degree (complicity),

  • one count of receiving stolen property (complicity),

  • six counts of wanton endangerment first degree (complicity),

  • one count of tampering with physical evidence (complicity),

  • and two counts of possession of a handgun by a minor

Demaurion is also charged with one count of possession of a defaced firearm.

Conroy also requested another hearing ahead of the start of the trial. The next court date is set for at 10:30 a.m. on June 13.

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Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Tyree Smith bus stop shooting: Trial set for Louisville teens in case