Jurors return mixed verdict against Cameron Jones in New Year's Eve slaying

After three hours of deliberations, jurors returned a mix of guilty and not guilty verdicts against 18-year-old Cameron Jones in the shooting death of Damarcus Hartwell, 35, at a New Year's Eve party in 2022.

Jones was found not guilty of aggravated murder and one count of murder. Jurors found him guilty of one count each of felony murder, aggravated robbery, robbery, felonious assault and the associated weapon specifications, which could carry additional prison time.

Murder trial begins: Codefendant takes the stand in New Year's Eve shooting that killed Damarcus Hartwell

Over four days, jurors heard from investigators, neighbors, the medical examiner and three codefendants who took plea deals for reduced charges with prosecutors in exchange for their testimony. The jury also viewed footage from the duplex porch that showed the moments before and after the deadly shooting.

In their closing statements, prosecutors argued that jurors heard Hartwell identify Jones as the shooter in the security footage, placing the blame on the defendant.

"We cannot bring Marcus here, but he spoke to you," Mayer said to the jury.

Jones' attorney, Erik Jones, argued that it was not his client who fired the fatal shot that killed Hartwell. He said a codefendant pulled the trigger instead.

A plan to rob on New Year's Eve

In her closing argument, Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Amanda Hathaway outlined what she said were indisputable facts of the case.

Among those facts, she said Jones and his codefendants planned to rob Hartwell just before midnight. Through text messages shown to the jury, Nino Jennings told Layveire Belton where and how to park his car to make a getaway.

After four shots rang out, two teens ran out of the house before Hartwell fell down the stairs. Then Jones and Belton jump over Hartwell, running from the house, Hathaway said. Jones is seen with a fanny pack on his shoulder that contained Hartwell's drugs and money.

"This case is simple. Mr. Jones, with his friends, developed a plan to rob Mr. Hartwell on Dec. 31, 2022," Hathaway told the jury. "As part of that unfolding of events, Mr. Hartwell lost his life."

She explained the bullet that killed him entered the left side of his back and traveled right through his body, wounding his lungs and severing his spinal cord.

Who shot Damarcus Hartwell?

Jones' attorney Erik Jones argued in his closing statements that his client did not pull the trigger, killing Hartwell nearly two years ago. He said Belton was the shooter. A murder charge was dismissed in exchange for Belton's testimony.

Jones said codefendants Belton, Makhi Anderson-Clay and Nino Jennings were inconsistent in their testimonies. From differences including who was in the getaway vehicle to the conversations had in that vehicle and whose idea the robbery was, Jones argued they could not be trusted and were not credible witnesses.

"This case is all about circumstantial evidence," Jones argued on behalf of his client. "Not one witness that came to the stand is someone that you can rely on."

He said he could not square the medical examiner's testimony with Belton's story. Belton recalled how Jones' client fought Hartwell in the hallway after the four shots were fired.

"[The medical examiner said Hartwell's] spine was severed and almost immediately he would be rendered incapable of walking," Jones said to jurors. "There is absolutely no way there were shots and then tussling, so the story that is being presented to you, medically, cannot happen."

Instead, Jones argued that his client fought with Hartwell in the hallway. Belton, in the spare bedroom, shot Hartwell from the left, striking his upper left back. The shell casing ejected to the right and landed in the spare bedroom where investigators later found it.

Prosecutors argue Cameron Jones shot Hartwell

Mayer countered that Hartwell's dying words should be enough for jurors to decide who shot and killed him nearly two years ago.

After Hartwell was shot in the back and crawled onto the porch, he is heard in the security footage speaking with two people trying to help him.

"Who shot you?" one person asked. Hartwell replied, "Cam."

"On purpose?" the same person asked. "Yeah," Hartwell said again.

Addressing the defense's closing argument, Mayer said Belton carried a rifle in and out of the house that night. The shell casing found in the spare bedroom would not match a rifle's caliber. The other shell casings were not recovered but could have been kicked around after the shooting and as police secured the property.

"If you don't believe Marcus, I guess we're done here," he said. "He spoke and told you who did it."

Jones, Belton, Jennings and Anderson-Clay will be sentenced Monday at 2 p.m. in Summit County Common Pleas Judge Joy Malek Oldfield's courtroom.

Bryce Buyakie covers courts and public safety for the Beacon Journal. He can be reached by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @bryce_buyakie.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron teen found guilty of felony murder in New Year's Eve slaying