- April 25, 2024
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Palm Coast resident Da'Mari Barnes, 15, has been arrested and charged with manslaughter in the Feb. 5 shooting that killed Palm Coast resident Jamey “JuJu” Bennett Jr., 19, at a party in the woods off Old Kings Road north of Matanzas Woods Parkway, according to the Flagler County Sheriff's Office.
"Parents, I asked you to teach your kids that it takes a bigger man to walk away from a dispute than it does to be a punk with a gun."
— RICK STALY, sheriff
Barnes, a Matanzas High School student, fled to Georgia after the shooting. He surrendered himself at the Mitchell County Sheriff's Office in Camilla, Georgia, on Feb. 23 after the FCSO got a nationwide pickup order for him on Feb. 22 and pressed his parents to convince him to turn himself in, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said in a Feb. 24 news conference.
"A young man saw his life end unexpectedly, and it happened by the hands of a gunman even younger than him," Staly said, holding up a photo of Barnes. "This was a 15-year-old. 15 years old. This is a killer. It's amazing to me .. that this would be done at the hands of a 15-year-old. ... He was trying to be a macho man with a gun."
The State Attorney's Office is considering a range of charges, including first-degree murder and the charging of Barnes as an adult, State Attorney R.J. Larizza said.
"When a death is involved, it's difficult to justify anything other than adult charges, in most instances," Larizza said. "But we haven't got all the paperwork yet. We haven't got all the information. Once we do, we'll review it and then we'll make a decision based on the facts, the circumstances and the law, and what we believe is the appropriate thing to do."
The current manslaughter charge is a first-degree felony punishable by 30 years in prison.
Staly said he didn't believe the juvenile justice system would be the right venue to handle the case.
"While it is tragic to charge a 15-year-old with murder, it is my hope the State Attorney and a grand jury, if necessary, will indict and charge him as an adult," Staly said. "The juvenile system has significant limitations on serious crimes like this, and I don't think the juvenile system will provide the proper justice for the victim's family or our community."
The shooting had occurred shortly before 2 a.m. at a bonfire party held in a wooded area near the StorQuest storage facility, off Old Kings Road north of its intersection with Matanzas Woods Parkway and Matanzas High School, for a teenage girl's birthday.
About 50 young people had attended the party after an open invitation was shared on social media.
Barnes picked up two people and drove them to the party, according to his arrest report. One of them saw him pull a black semiautomatic pistol from the driver's side door panel and place it in the pouch of his sweatshirt.
At about 1:30 or 1:40 a.m., two teenage girls were dancing near the bonfire when one of them bumped into Barnes, according to his arrest report. He yelled at her and shoved her, witnesses later told deputies.
"He was talking trash," Staly said.
Bennett, who was friends with the girl, intervened — telling Barnes that he shouldn't be putting his hands on a woman — then punched Barnes.
Barnes fell to the ground, drew the gun, and shot Bennett once in the chest.
He fled in a 2009 blue Hyundai Sonata with two people he'd arrived with, dropping one of them at a B-Section house before heading down to Volusia County with the other, telling them he needed to get rid of the gun, according to the arrest report.
He ultimately turned north toward Georgia, where he had family members.
Deputies tracked the car using local traffic and surveillance camera footage.
Many of the attendees at the party didn't know each other, complicating the investigation. Many were also "not totally forthcoming" when detectives questioned them, Staly said.
Detectives held more than 20 hours of interviews with dozens of witnesses, reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance footage and conducted more than 20 searches on homes, cars and electronic devices, as well as more than 50 preservation orders involving social media accounts, Staly said.
Investigators are confident that Barnes acted alone, and they do not expect anyone else to be charged, Staly said.
The State Attorney's Office is seeing a trend of young people stealing guns for use in crimes, Larizza said. He urged locals and dealers to make sure to secure firearms properly.
"Kids are stealing guns: from vehicles, from dealers," he said. "... They're being traded and sold by kids to other kids, and they're being used in violent crime. ... Secure your weapons. Don't leave them in your cars, because ... these kids, they'll break into a car, and they're looking for guns."
Staly said parents need to stay informed about what their kids are doing and who they're with, and teach them not to escalate arguments.
"Parents, I asked you to teach your kids that it takes a bigger man to walk away from a dispute than it does to be a punk with a gun," Staly said. "... How many parents knew that their kids — 50 kids, about — were in the woods at a party that would end up in a murder, at two o'clock in the morning? I would venture to say that most of those parents had no clue where their kids were."
Nothing good happens are midnight, especially with 50 kids at a party in the woods, he said.
"So you need to know where your children are and what they're doing. Be the sheriff of your house," he said. "... We hope this arrest helps JuJu's family obtain justice for their son, and closure, knowing the offender will be held accountable for taking their son away from them."
The FCSO is still working to solve two other unrelated homicides that occurred in Flagler County in recent months — the Dec. 29 shooting that killed 23-year-old Zaire Roberts and the Jan. 12 shooting that killed 16-year-old FPC student Noah Smith.
"We're not ready to make arrests yet or bring them to conclusion, but the same team that you see behind me, and those that are still out in the field, are working those cases, along with parts of this entire agency and FDLE," Staly said. "I am confident that we will bring them to a successful resolution."
