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Teen, 16, on trial for murder in 2012 St. Petersburg beating death

 
Franco Harris Thomas, 16, sits at the defense table during the first day of his first-degree murder trial.
Franco Harris Thomas, 16, sits at the defense table during the first day of his first-degree murder trial.
Published Sept. 17, 2014

LARGO — Two years after police branded 14-year-old Franco Harris Thomas one of St. Petersburg's most-wanted killers, the Pinellas Park teen went on trial Tuesday for allegedly helping bludgeon a college student to death.

Thomas, now 16, faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with the killing of 20-year-old Jeremy Mayers. Authorities found Mayers dead on the lawn of a home in the Coquina Key neighborhood of St. Petersburg in July 2012.

"He was kicked, he was punched, and he was struck with a shotgun," Assistant State Attorney Joshua Riba told jurors Tuesday.

Two other teens, both 16 at the time of the killing, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the case. One, Brittany Detwiler, is awaiting sentencing and is expected to testify against Thomas.

The other, Scionti Hill, agreed to testify in exchange for a 35-year prison sentence. But he backed out Tuesday morning, despite an order from Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Joseph A. Bulone. When the judge told Hill he might face more prison time for breaking his agreement, the teen simply said, "I understand, sir; I refuse still."

Thomas' lawyer, Frank Louderback, said in an opening statement Tuesday that the teens whom the state plans to call as witnesses have offered conflicting accounts of the killing.

"I've been involved in this case now for over two years and, frankly, I don't know what these people are going to say when they come in to testify," Louderback said.

He suggested they might have smoked marijuana on the day Mayers was killed.

The crime, as described by police, was equal parts gruesome and inept. Authorities have said the three teens were hanging around a home at 3632 Sea Robin Drive SE when Detwiler invited Mayers over to have sex. She had recently met him online, according to investigators, and she did not object when Hill asked if he could rob Mayers, a St. Petersburg College student who worked at a local grocery store.

Hill and Thomas grabbed a shotgun from their car, police said, but they forgot ammunition. When they jumped Mayers, he fought back and Hill tripped, scuffing his Air Force One sneakers, police said. Then angry, he punched Mayers, and witnesses told police that Thomas whacked the 20-year-old with the unloaded shotgun until he fell to the ground, unconscious.

Riba said Tuesday that Mayers died from blunt force trauma and asphyxiation.

Police later found Mayers' car, but they did not identify any of Thomas' fingerprints or DNA inside, Louderback said.

Assistant State Attorney Susan St. John said in court Tuesday that prosecutors would agree to a 25-year prison sentence for Thomas if he pleaded guilty, and that the defense has suggested a 20-year-sentence.

Judge Bulone asked Thomas about those negotiations, and Thomas said he still wished to go to trial. He conferred quietly with his defense team as attorneys gave their opening statements, occasionally looking down at a yellow legal pad.

Two of Thomas' friends declined to comment outside the courtroom.

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Times staff writer Curtis Krueger contributed to this report. Contact Zachary T. Sampson at zsampson@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8804.