Fate of murder-for-hire trial now rests with the jury

The fate of 31-year-old Kevin Tyrone Bryant charged with murder in the shooting death of Saequan Vereen now rests in the hands of the jury.

Bryant is accused of waiting for Vereen to exit Club Levelz in the wee hours of Feb. 15, 2015 to carry out a hit he was hired to finish. Police testified Bryant crouched between cars in the parking lot for several minutes, waiting for his prey, keeping put while others stepped and jumped over him as they left the club.

Then surveillance footage – played again for the jury during closing arguments – show Vereen exiting the club with a group of other guys at 2:33 a.m. Vereen reaches the void between the cars where police say Bryant was hiding and a muzzle flash ignites on the upper right corner of the screen in the video that shows Vereen falling and his killer continuing to shoot as he stood over him.

Attorneys on both sides of the courtroom asked jurors to look at the evidence that was presented in the trial in closing arguments.

Assistant Solicitor Joshua Holford told the jury to follow the evidence, specifically the bullet that was fired from a security guard’s gun at the shooter that morning.

Ronald Poston, an armed guard with Advanced Protection Services, said he fired at the shooter when he wouldn’t drop his gun and was sure he struck the suspect before he fled the scene.

That bullet from Poston’s gun matched the bullet that fell out of a gunshot wound on Bryant, who was stopped by police blocks away from the club and minutes after the shooting, Holford said.

Jurors leaned forward to review the surveillance footage again as Holford pointed out key moments like the 10 minute wait, Holford said, Bryant had outside the club that night.

In the defense’s closing arguments, Kia Wilson asked the jury to look at the evidence, specifically the evidence the state didn’t present during the trial.

The results of a DNA analysis on the shooter’s gun, the gunshot residue test officers performed on Bryant that night, the witnesses at the club that could have identified the shooter’s face – all of those key elements were missing, she said.

That was all information they didn’t want you to know, she told the jury.

"The two lead investigators (in this case), who have sat in this courtroom every day, they didn’t use them," she said. "You didn’t hear from them. … They didn’t want you to hear."

Wilson reminded the jurors of all of the state’s witnesses – except for the two security guards – who said they didn’t see the shooting occur, a question she asked of nearly every witness under cross examination.

The two security guards, who did see the shooting, described the killer as a black male who was wearing all black clothing.

Holford showed the jurors photos of the black clothing Bryant was wearing that night to remind them of the description that led officers to Bryant and the bullet that placed him at the scene. The guards identified Bryant as the shooter to police that night.

But Wilson reminded the jury the security guards testified they didn’t see the shooter’s face and she said their descriptions of a black male, his height, weight and clothing weren’t enough for a clear identification.

"They would say a general description is sufficient for a conviction and I’m saying it’s not," Wilson said. "If he was in that club, they could have put somebody on the stand to talk about it."

The state had planned to call one more witness, who exited the club with Vereen and had a clear view of the suspect. But when the witness’ criminal history came into question before he had a chance to testify in front of the jury, the state chose not to call him.

"When you’re presented with a narrow slice of something you have a very limited view," Wilson told the jury. "Those things that are not there are reasonable doubt."

Wilson told the jury it was not their job to fill in those holes for the state. She said it was their job look at the evidence, all of those holes and see the reasonable doubt those voids create.

"They want to go halfway and have you award them with a touchdown," she said, pulling a football analogy out of the playbook. "They have to get to the endzone to get to the touchdown. … We’re talking about someone’s life."

The jury started deliberating shortly after 11 a.m.

Bryant was indicted on charges of murder and unlawful possession of a pistol. He has been held in the J. Reuben Long Detention Center since his arrest in February 2015.

In March of that year, police charged 35-year-old Robbie Lee Bufkin of Loris with murder, the unlawful possession of a pistol and second-offense trafficking in cocaine, in the case.

According to arrest warrants, Bufkin “offered money for the murder of the victim, did hire Bryant to commit the murder and was instrumental in planning the execution-style murder.”

Bufkin’s murder and weapons charges were dropped in May as he pled guilty to the trafficking charge. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison with credit for time served.　

Thirty-four-year-old Tiffany Miranda Taylor of Kingstree was charged with being an accessory after the fact in the murder case earlier this year. Her case is still pending, according to online court records.

Check back for more on this story as the trial continues.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 1:23 PM with the headline "Fate of murder-for-hire trial now rests with the jury."