Ex-Vero Beach High School student faces life in 2020 shooting at BP Express Mart

VERO BEACH – A former Vero Beach High School student faces a life prison term after a jury convicted him in the 2020 fatal shooting of a 20-year-old man outside a BP Express Mart at 20th Avenue Southwest and Oslo Road, in Indian River County, court records show.

After a four-day trial that ended Thursday, a jury convicted Camden Stukins, 22, of second-degree murder and other charges related to the Jan. 19, 2020 murder of Carltravius Jones, who had driven to the BP Express Mart with four others to purchase marijuana from Stukins, according to court records and trial testimony.

Detectives learned the meet-up at the BP with Stukins had been arranged through Snapchat.

Jurors were told Stukins, of the 700 block of 4th Place Southwest, pulled into BP first in a four-door BMW and parked, followed by Jones in a silver Toyota sedan.

Jones had four passengers: Almajzha Johnson, then 17, in the front passenger seat and three people in the back seat.

Stukins walked to the front passenger window and a drug transaction followed, according to an arrest affidavit.

Detectives were told Jones didn’t pay Stukins for the marijuana, and he got angry. Stukins then reached inside the Toyota and fired gunshots, striking both Jones and Johnson in the head.

Assistant State Attorney Michelle McCarter said when Stukins took the stand during his trial, he told jurors the shooting was an accident.

“He said self-defense, and he said accidental shooting; he said both,” McCarter said Monday. “According to his testimony, he pulled his gun out because he thought he saw a handle of a gun in (Jones’) hand, and he put his hand in the car and shot.”

As soon as the shots were fired, Jones sped off through the parking lot, drove over bushes along 20th Avenue Southwest and continued across the road.

The Toyota was "T-boned" by a white pickup truck driving south along 20th Avenue Southwest but kept going. It then spun around and struck a second white pickup truck driving north on 20th Avenue Southwest.

Jones died that night at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital.

Johnson, who was a witness for the state at Stukins’ trial, was struck by the same bullet that killed Jones, McCarter said.

“She is severely injured from that incident; she can’t walk anymore,” McCarter said. “She was in her senior year of high school at the time this happened in 2020. And she's just now able to start back school to get her diploma.”

Johnson testified in court seated in a wheelchair, McCarter said.

The drivers of the two trucks Jones hit were not injured, she said.

Detectives discovered a .9 mm shell casing at the scene and a small amount of marijuana and money were found inside Jones' vehicle. But no weapons were found in Jones’ car, McCarter said.

“There's no evidence that any of the victims had a gun or a weapon in their car,” she said.

Stukins was arrested about two hours after fleeing the scene.

Using a warrant, detectives searched his home and found Stukins washing clothes he wore at the gas station, and in his bedroom, they found the license plate to his BMW.

The gun he used was never recovered, McCarter said.

Stukins faces an automatic life term at his sentencing on May 9. He was also convicted of possession of cannabis with intent to sell with a firearm, and attempted manslaughter.

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Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at  melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Camden Stukins faces life term in 2020 shooting at BP Express Mart