Adarus Black convicted of murder in drive-by shooting of 18-year-old Na'Kia Crawford

Adarus Black has been found guilty of murder in the drive-by shooting death of Na’Kia Crawford, 18, who was shot multiple times while running errands with her grandmother in June 2020.

Jurors deliberated for about four hours before announcing they had convicted Black of the lone count he faced — murder with a gun specification.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Kelly McLaughlin will sentence Black on Nov. 30. He faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison with possible parole after 18 years.

Black plans to appeal, his attorneys said.

The Akron shooting gained national attention, with initial reports indicating the slaying may have been racially motivated, but police later saying it was a case of mistaken identity.

Nearly two years later, Black was arrested in Georgia by a fugitive task force.

Black, who was 17 at the time of the shooting and is now 19, went on trial last week.

Here are key points about the case, as well as highlights from the trial.

Grandmother recalls drive-by shooting

Lynn Williams, Crawford's grandmother who was the first witness in the trial, shared her recollections about the drive-by shooting that claimed her granddaughter's life.

More:'I think I got shot:' Grandmother recalls Akron teen Na'Kia Crawford's final words

Williams said she and Crawford were chatting at a red light when she heard a noise, then looked over and realized Crawford had a mark on her neck. She said Crawford told her she'd been shot, which were her final words.

Williams said she didn't see who shot Crawford or what type of vehicle the shooter was driving.

Openings: Attorneys dispute merits of evidence

Assistant Prosecutor Brian Stano said in his opening statement that Jaion Bivins and Black were the two people in the car used in the shooting. He said jurors won't be able to hear from Bivins because he is dead.

Stano said which of the two did the shooting doesn't matter. He said both are "guilty of murder."

John Alexander, one of Black's attorneys, though, emphasized the evidence prosecutors lack to tie his client to the slaying, including his image on surveillance video, DNA or fingerprints.

"He didn't do it," Alexander said.

Two men testify about seeing Black, Bivins at party on day of shooting

Two men testified Thursday about seeing Black and Bivins at a party on the day of Crawford’s shooting.

Brian Dickerson said the party at a house on Merton Street in Akron was to celebrate the birthday of Martel Spragling, a friend of his. He said Bivins came to the party in his black Camaro.

Dickerson said Bivins was with someone else, but he didn’t know who. He said he later found out it was Black.

Dickerson, though, said he didn’t see Bivins and Black get in or out of the car together.

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Spragling, who had an attorney in court with him, said he sold the Camaro to Bivins for $5,000 and Bivins was going to take over the payments. When Spragling owned the car, he said, he put a memorial on the hood in honor of his cousin who was shot and killed.

When Spragling saw the car on the news as being sought in connection with Crawford’s shooting, he said he told Bivins he needed to turn himself in with an attorney, which Bivins then did.

Spragling said he saw Black and Bivins at his party but didn’t see if they came or left together.

Assistant Prosecutor Brian LoPrinzi, though, asked Spragling about a statement he made to Akron police Lt. Dave Whiddon shortly after Crawford’s shooting in which he said Bivins and Black left and returned to the party together. Crawford’s shooting happened during this time period.

Spragling said he said this because he was trying to end the interrogation and go home.

Alexander pressed Spragling about whether he saw if Black left or came back to the party with Bivins.

Spragling said he did not.

Closings: Prosecutors tout tech evidence, while defense highlights lack of scientific evidence

Black's trial concluded Monday afternoon with closing arguments from the attorneys.

Prosecutors emphasized evidence presented in the case they say showed Black was in the car involved in the drive-by shooting, including from CyberCheck, a new technology tool that found Black's cyber profile was at Howard and North streets at the time of the shooting.

Alexander, though, highlighted the evidence that wasn't found, including any DNA or eyewitnesses, that could tie Black to the shooting or place him in the car.

Na'Kia Crawford’s shooting draws national attention

Crawford’s shooting drew national attention when it initially appeared to be motivated by race.

Crawford was shot June 14, 2020, while she was stopped at a traffic signal at Howard and North streets. She was taken to the hospital where she later died.

Memorial to victim:Car used in shooting of Na’Kia Crawford apparently features memorial to man killed in Akron

Witnesses reported that the shooter was white, with concerns then raised that Crawford, who was Black, may have been targeted because of her race.

Ben Crump, a nationally known civil rights attorney, agreed to assist Crawford’s family. He has represented families in numerous high-profile cases, including the family of George Floyd, the Minneapolis man who was killed when an officer kneeled on his neck and whose death sparked protests in Akron and across the country.

Akron police and the FBI, however, dispelled the racial component when they said the main suspect in the shooting was Adarus Black, who is African American. Investigators said Black mistakenly shot Crawford because he thought the car she was driving belonged to a rival.

Mistaken identity:Na’Kia Crawford shooting was mistaken identity, not racially motivated, Akron police say

Crump withdrew from representing the Crawford family.

Adarus Black wasn’t the only one charged in Na'Kia Crawford’s shooting

Black was one of three people who were originally charged in Crawford’s shooting.

Bivins, 20, of Akron, was charged with obstruction of justice and tampering with evidence. Janisha George, 25, of Tallmadge, was charged with obstruction.

Prosecutors dropped the charges against Bivins and George in March 2021 without prejudice, which means they can refile the charges.

Gunman at large:Charges dismissed in Na'Kia Crawford killing as suspected shooter remains at large

That won’t happen with at least Bivins, though, because he was killed in Kentucky.

George testified in Black’s trial. She wasn't in the car at the time of the shooting.

Adarus Black is arrested in February in another state

After Crawford’s shooting, a national manhunt began to find Black.

Police tracked down leads around Ohio and into Michigan, Kentucky, West Virginia and Tennessee.

Black eluded police, though, until February when the Northern Ohio Fugitive Task Force got a report that he was living in Atlanta, Georgia, under a fake name. The task force, along with local law enforcement, arrested him and he was returned to Summit County.

Video of arrest:Footage shows Adarus Black, suspect in Na'Kia Crawford shooting, being arrested in Georgia

Black, because of his age and the severity of the charge, was automatically bound over from Summit County Juvenile Court to common pleas court to be tried as an adult.

Adarus Black didn't waive his speedy trial rights

If it seemed like Black’s trial happened quickly, that’s because it did.

Black and his attorneys refused to waive his speedy trial rights, which required that his trial happen much faster than normal for a murder trial.

People charged with felonies in Ohio who are in custody must be tried within 90 days, but attorneys often waive this right to have longer to prepare for the trial and to have the chance to address issues like competency and suppression questions.

Alexander, who is representing Black with Ed Smith, declined to discuss why they did not waive his speedy trial rights.

Murder trials in Summit County often take at least a year to go to trial and with the pandemic, some of have been delayed for up to two years.

Na'Kia Crawford’s slaying resonates in Akron community

Crawford’s shooting struck a chord in the Akron area, especially because it happened at a time of heightened concern about both gun violence and racial issues.

Vigils and protests were held and a large “Black Lives Matter” mural was done nearby by volunteers. A $50,000 reward was offered for information in the case.

Many referred to the shooting as senseless, especially because Crawford appeared to not be the intended target.

“Na’Kia Crawford was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Deputy Chief Jesse Lesser said in a news conference in June 2020.

Crawford was a recent North High School graduate and planned to attend Central State University to study computer science. Her family said she was a kind, loving person. They said she stayed out of trouble and made no enemies, making her death even harder to believe.

Family speaks:Na'Kia Crawford's family thankful for arrest, ask who helped suspect hide for 20 months

Her family members were pleased by Black’s arrest and had said they wanted to see Black locked up for the rest of his life.

“To me, he’s an animal,” Saria Crawford, Na’Kia’s grandmother, recently told the Beacon Journal. “They put animals in cages.”

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com, 330-996-3705 and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Adarus Black convicted of killing Na'Kia Crawford in drive-by shooting