A jury in Volusia County on Friday convicted 20-year-old McKenzy Nazien of Port Orange of first degree murder and attempted first degree murder following a weeklong trial. The two convictions were part of a slew of criminal charges that've been issued against Nazien, who has been in custody since May 2023 when he was arrested for a separate armed robbery.
The killing in question occurred on September 1st, 2022. Nazien, then 19, was accused of fatally shooting 22-year-old Ta'ronn Brown in the parking lot of Port Orange's Sunrise Pointe Apartments. A witness said that Nazien shot Brown repeatedly in the back, sparking a shootout in which several other individuals present fired shots. Brown was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime.
The next step in the investigation was in November 2022 when a deputy with the Hendry County Sheriff's Office in South Florida initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle Nazien was said to be in. He and two others in the vehicle were said to have fled to a neighborhood close by, before being located and arrested.
Nazien is further accused of lying in interviews with the Port Orange Police Department about the September 2022 shooting. He was first booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail on two charges of grand theft with a firearm and one charge of armed burglary. While in jail, he was charged with murder.
"The defendant shot our victim multiple times and at least forty rounds were expended during this shooting episode," said State Attorney R.J. Larizza. "It is nothing short of miraculous that more folks weren't shot or killed. Another example of the disturbing trend of a teenager engaging in homicidal activity."
The 'trend' in youth violent crime claimed by State Attorney Larizza is more complex than a simple uniform increase. According to the Council on Criminal Justice, youth offenders are committing crimes such as burglary, larceny, and vandalism at a lower rate spanning from 2016 to 2022. The rate of youth-perpetrated homicide, meanwhile, increased by 65% in the same time period. Data indicates that the rate of violent crime for ages 10 through 14 has increased, while more of a steady decrease has been observed in ages 15 to 17 respectively.
