NORFOLK, Va. — Jury deliberation in the case against one of the men charged with shooting and killing a Norfolk State University student in 2023 will continue for a second day after beginning late Thursday afternoon.
Twenty-year-old NSU student Jahari George was shot and killed while in a car with friends on September 2, 2023.
Watch: 'Beacon of light and hope:' Family of murdered NSU student release statement calling for change
Since then, three people have been charged, including Cameron Brown. In July, one of the other two suspects was found not guilty of his charges. In March 2024, the Commonwealth dropped charges against the third suspect but could bring those charges back in the future.
Brown's trial began Oct. 20. Cameras were not allowed in the courtroom for the trial.
Watch: Trial begins for man accused in death of Norfolk State student Jahari George
Before both sides rested Thursday, the Commonwealth called two detectives who spent most of their time on the stand answering questions about cellphone location data at the time of the shooting for Brown and two other people connected to the shooting.
Going into the day, Brown was facing 12 charges. But after both sides rested, his defense attorney argued for reducing or dismissing some of the charges.
Watch: New evidence revealed in trial over killing of Norfolk State student Jahari George
The judge decided to leave Brown with one count of first-degree murder, one count of using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and one count of maliciously shooting at a car.
The jury was given the option, though of finding Brown guilty of second-degree murder if they don’t think he’s guilty of first-degree murder. They were also given the option to find him guilty of unlawfully shooting into a car if they don’t think he’s guilty of the malicious shooting charge.
Watch: Key witness claims defendant confessed to killing NSU student Jahari George
After deliberating for over an hour, the jury asked the judge if they could find Brown guilty of accessory instead of malicious shooting if they didn’t think he was the shooter.
The judge told them to refer back to their jury instructions and then told the jury to come back Friday morning to continue deliberating.
