Jury selection begins in trial of Titusville man charged with 2020 murder of choir member
It was a shocking death, one that not only brought anguish for friends and family of Rickie Gilbert but also kindled protests over gun violence in Titusville.
Now, more than four years after Gilbert unwittingly drove into the crossfire of a shootout between rival groups and was fatally wounded as he headed to choir rehearsal, prosecutors are set to take the defendant in the case to trial.
Jury selection begins Monday in the first-degree murder trial of 25-year-old Quantay Demaurie Byrom in what police describe as a feud that spilled over onto the streets of Titusville. Brevard Circuit Judge Charlie Crawford will preside over the trial, which will take place at the Moore Justice Center in Viera and include testimony from several witnesses.
If convicted, Byrom — who was 21 when the Feb. 25, 2020, shooting happened — could face life in state prison in connection with the death of 62-year-old Gilbert.
Gilbert, police say, was driving to St. James AME Church, a congregation less than a mile from the shooting site. when he was hit.
After reviewing multiple angles of surveillance footage and interviewing several witnesses, police reported that Byrom was driving a Hyundai Sonata when gunfire broke out between his vehicle and another group driving a Nissan Altima that evening. Another person, an unidentified teen, was wounded, but did not have life-threatening injuries.
Byrom was arrested on April 2, 2020.
“I don’t know how it happened, it just happened,” Byrom would tell detectives later before asking for his mother, arrest records show.
Bryan Savy, Byrom’s defense attorney, said his client is innocent of the charges.
“All I can say right now is that they arrested a person who is not responsible for the homicide,” said Savy, adding that he expected the trial to get underway as scheduled.
Incident was caught on video
Titusville police detectives, expected to testify once the jury has been impaneled, said the shooting began between whose occupants shot at each other along several residential streets.
More than a dozen shots were reported by witnesses, including one woman who was sitting outside on her porch at the time, court records show. The incident was also captured on video.
Police arrived within moments and cordoned off a crime scene at which dozens of spent shell casings lined the street, stretching from south Deleon Avenue down to Queen Street and Elizabeth Avenue.
Two bullets punched through the windshield of Gilbert's Toyota Rav4, striking him in the forehead.
Gilbert veered off the roadway and crashed into a nearby tree, police reported. Church members who heard about the shooting rushed to see Gilbert's vehicle.
Gilbert died the following day.
Police identified Byrom as one of the potential participants in the shooting, according to an arrest affidavit.
More: Community to hold vigil for Titusville bystander fatally wounded last week in daytime shootout
After questioning Byrom — who admitted he was driving one of the cars seen the day of the shooting — added that he had picked up the shooter earlier and purchased marijuana. It was later that he was driving and heard multiple gunshots, arrest records show.
Bryom was indicted by the grand jury on a first-degree murder charge in September 2020. He remains held without bond at the Brevard County Jail Complex in Sharpes.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Jury selection set as Titusville man goes on trial for 2020 murder
