Trials
A Hillsborough County judge sentenced Jahmir Moore, 17, to 55 years in prison for the 2024 murder of 14-year-old Jevario Buie in Tampa.
Moore, who was 15 when Buie was shot near railroad tracks off West Busch Boulevard in April 2024, was found guilty of first-degree murder in September. On Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, the judge imposed 55 years with a 25-year mandatory minimum, citing Moore's age in declining the life sentence Buie's family asked for, FOX 13 Tampa Bay, WFLA and WTSP reported.
By Crime Talk Network Staff Writer ·
Two boys, one dead at 14, one headed to prison for most of his adult life at 17. The family asked for life. The judge said no, citing Moore's age. Buie's grandfather said it plainly: an important chapter closed, but no closure. Moore has denied pulling the trigger and can appeal.
A Hillsborough County judge sentenced Jahmir Moore, 17, on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, to 55 years in prison for the murder of 14-year-old Jevario Buie, with a mandatory minimum of 25 years, WTSP and FOX 13 Tampa Bay reported. WTSP reported Moore will also serve a concurrent 364 days for resisting arrest and five years for escaping a detention facility. A jury found him guilty of first-degree murder in September 2026. FOX 13 reported the judge cited Moore's age as the reason for not imposing a life sentence.
Tampa police responded to reports of gunfire on West Busch Boulevard on April 17, 2024, and found Buie near the railroad tracks between Busch Boulevard and Rome Avenue, WFLA and WTSP reported. Surveillance video showed Moore walking with Buie shortly before the shooting and then walking away alone, according to the stations. Detectives said they found records of Moore communicating with Buie beforehand, along with social media messages, notes and search history that implicated him, WTSP reported. WFLA reported police said Moore's messages included details about Buie's death that had not been made public. Buie's grandfather previously told investigators the boy went to the tracks thinking he was going to stand up to a bully and was instead ambushed, WTSP reported.
Moore, then 15, was arrested Dec. 4, 2024, by Tampa police and U.S. Marshals, WTSP reported. Days later he escaped from the Hillsborough Regional Juvenile Detention Center, and authorities recaptured him hours later near his parents' home on West Keyes Avenue, WFLA reported. Moore has denied pulling the trigger, FOX 13 reported.
Buie's family spoke at Friday's hearing and asked for life. "Real courage isn't pulling the trigger, young man," his grandfather, Michael Baldwin Sr., told Moore, according to FOX 13. "Real courage is looking at the devastation that you caused and saying, 'I did that.'" His mother, Jasmine Baldwin, said, "I miss his laugh. I miss his voice," FOX 13 reported. The Hillsborough County State Attorney's Office said his mother remembered his "goofy smile" and how he would ask her to watch him pop wheelies on his bicycle, WFLA reported. Moore's mother told the court her son is not a monster and that her family feels remorse, FOX 13 reported.
After the hearing, Baldwin Sr. said the sentence closes an important chapter but brings no closure, and that he intends to watch whether Moore changes in prison, FOX 13 reported. Moore can still appeal the conviction and the sentence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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