STUART — A trial began this morning in the case of a 39-year-old man accused in the January 2008 shooting death of a 19-year-old church drummer who was a bystander during a fight.

Eric Lashawn Wiley could face life in prison if convicted on murder charges in connection with the death of Levi “Dwight” Starks.

Starks, 19, was a bystander while Wiley fought with another man, Aaron Stoudemire. Starks died shortly after the gun went off and hit him in the chest.

Wiley later called police and turned himself in. He told them he fought with Stoudemire, his sister’s boyfriend, because Stoudemire was beating his sister, who was pregnant at the time.

Authorities did not find the weapon at the time, but Assistant State Attorney Vicki Nichols told an 8-member jury this morning a man walking his dog found the gun in Riviera Beach in March.

WIley’s attorney, John Lithgow, told jurors that the shooting was a terrible accident that happened because Stoudemire was “out of control” that morning.

“Mr. Starks’ blood is not on his hands,” Lithgow said, pointing ot his client. “It’s on Mr. Stoudemire’s hands.”

Starks was a drummer at Love Temple Church of God by Faith in Stuart.

WIley’s trial is expected to last a week.

Tags: accident, beating, church, death, fight, gun, jury, murder, police, prison, shooting, Stuart, teen, trial

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 12th, 2009 at 10:17 am and is filed under Courts, Crime, Martin County, Stuart. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.