Lezarius Amirre Graham, a 17-year-old Black male known to loved ones as “Lee,” was a student at Marion County Acceleration Academies with career goals of joining the Navy or Air Force. Described by his family as “sweet, mannerly and funny,” he was known for being outgoing and smart, consistently earning high marks on his tests. His grandmother remembered him as a “good young man.”
He would have celebrated his 18th birthday just weeks after his death.
On June 6, 2023, Graham arranged to meet 19-year-old Leilani Ashantae Brown in Ocala, Florida, to sell her marijuana. Brown arrived in a stolen Toyota Corolla, but she was not alone. Hiding in the trunk was 23-year-old Dexavion J’Neil Brown. When Graham got into the car, Dexavion Brown folded down the back seat and shot him twice. Graham managed to get out of the vehicle but collapsed nearby and died from his injuries. The next evening, a lawn maintenance worker discovered his body in a wooded area in the 2100 block of NW 43rd Street.
During the investigation, detectives learned that Leilani Brown had stolen the car used in the shooting from a party two days earlier. She told investigators that Graham’s murder was “gang-related” and that Dexavion Brown had informed her there was “money on his name,” referring to a bounty on Graham’s life. By the fall of 2023, both suspects were in custody on unrelated charges. Leilani Brown had been booked into the Marion County Jail in August for offenses including grand theft of a motor vehicle, while Dexavion Brown was being held in the Lake County Jail for attempted murder and robbery.
On November 15, 2023, a grand jury indicted both for their roles in Graham’s death. Dexavion Brown was charged with first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted first-degree murder, and tampering with an electronic monitoring device. Leilani Brown was indicted for first-degree murder with a firearm and grand theft.
The cases proceeded through the justice system separately. At his trial, where Leilani Brown testified that he was the shooter, Dexavion Brown was acquitted of first-degree murder in July 2026. The following month, Leilani Brown pleaded no contest to charges of second-degree murder and grand theft. As of August 2026, she had been sentenced to 13 years in prison.
