Timothy Chavers, the reported triggerman in the killing of fellow teenager Christopher Pitcock in Fort Walton Beach in 2010, will get a new trial.
Florida’s 1st District Court of Appeals on Thursday tossed out Chavers’ conviction of first-degree murder and attempted robbery.
The appeals court found issues with the reading of Chavers’ Miranda rights after he was taken into custody and with instructions given to the jury during his trial in 2011, State Attorney Bill Eddins said.
During the reading of his Miranda rights, Chavers told a Fort Walton Beach police officer he could not afford a lawyer. The officer did not clearly explain to Chavers that regardless of his ability to pay, he was entitled to an attorney, according to the appeals court’s ruling.
The court also found that second-degree murder was not presented as a lesser included offense to the jury during his trial.
Chavers was 17 years old when he and three other teens lured the 17-year-old Pitcock to the corner of Oakland Circle and Lula Belle Lane on March 4, 2010, under the pretense of buying marijuana from him. They actually planned to steal Pitcock’s marijuana, according to prosecutors.
During the meeting, Chavers fatally shot Pitcock in the side with a .357 Magnum as Pitcock sat in his Chevrolet Blazer.
He and 16-year-olds Tyree Rashand Washington, Kyle Markeith Walling and Johnathan Lee Louviere were arrested in a matter of days. They all were charged with first-degree murder.
Washington and Walling were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Louviere pleaded no contest to second-degree murder as an accomplice and was sentenced to 15 years.
Eddins said Thursday that the appeals court will transfer Chavers’ case back to Okaloosa County within two weeks. The court then must retry the case within 90 days, he said.
The state again will seek a life sentence without parole, Eddins said.
“We expect to be successful in the retrial of this case,” he said.