JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jury selection begins Monday for the trials of Hakeem Robinson and Leroy Whitaker Jr., two suspected gang members charged with the 2020 murder of Charles McCormick Jr. in Arlington.
The trials, which have faced multiple delays, are starting nearly five years after the arrests of the three men involved in the case.
Robinson, 26, also known as rapper ‘Ksoo’, and Whitaker, 24, also known as ‘ATK Scotty’, are accused of shooting McCormick with a rifle at a shopping mall on Merrill Road. The incident was captured on dash cam video, according to police reports.
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McCormick, 23, was an aspiring rapper who performed under the name Lil Buck.
Abdul Robinson Sr., Hakeem Robinson’s father, is also charged with murder and is expected to testify against his son.
Action News Jax’s Madison Foglio walks us through what we can expect going into this trial.
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We can expect a lot of evidence to be shown, two separate juries, and a lot of people to testify, including potential family members of the defendants.
Hakeem Robinson, Ksoo, and Leroy Whitaker are being tried together with separate juries.
Robinson is charged with:
- 1st degree murder as a criminal gang member
Whitaker is charged with:
- 1st degree murder as a criminal gang member,
- burglary with assault or battery
- home invasion robbery
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Officials say Robinson killed McCormick because he made a rap song that dissed late rapper Willie Addision (Big Goon), who also has family relations to Robinson.
Hakeem Robinson is also facing charges in the 2019 murder of 16-year-old Adrian Gainer, aka ‘Bibby.’ A pretrial hearing for this case is scheduled to occur during the jury selection for McCormick murder trial.
Action News Jax will be in the courtroom all week, so be sure to stay with us both on the air and online for the latest coverage on this trial.
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