Testimony continues in murder trial of nonprofit worker, mother

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The murder trial against two men accused in the 2016 drive-by killings of two people in Parramore began Wednesday morning.

State prosecutors said Christopher Miller and Lavon Shinn shot into a crowd of people. The bullets hit six people and killed two innocent bystanders, prosecutors said.

Three witnesses testified Wednesday morning in court.

During opening statements, prosecutors described the deadly night of April 16, 2016, when Gino Nicholas and Tanya Skeen were killed outside the Landings at Carver Park in Parramore.

Prosecutors said a fight broke out at Club Ono around 8 p.m. between Shinn and three other men, who were part of a group called One Way Boys.

Bouncers kicked everyone involved in the fight out of the club and witnesses said they heard Shinn say, “I’m going to get them back for this,” prosecutors said.

Shinn went home, picked up his brother, Miller, and got into a friend’s brown Malibu that was used in the drive-by shooting, a witness testified.

“(Shinn) He’s like, ‘I’ll be safe in your car.’ He told me he was trying to get to his mom’s house,” the witness testified.

Nicholas was a mentor for at-risk children for the city of Orlando’s program My Brother’s Keeper, in Parramore.

Skeen was a mother of three who was putting away groceries inside her apartment when she was shot, police said.

Prosecutors said two guns were used in the drive-by. Police said they found a gun under a bed in Shinn and Miller's apartment.

“It is undisputed that the gun that police think was used to kill Gino Nicholas was owned by Mr. Miller. It does not mean that he was the one that pulled the trigger,” a defense attorney said.

Eyewitness News reported Tuesday that Ricky Harrison, a witness set to testify, won’t show up for court. Eyewitness News has learned a second witness, Brandon Dukes, has also refused to appear in court. The judge has ordered that both men be arrested.

Testimony continues at 9 a.m. Thursday.

Cox Media Group