After 8 hours of deliberation, Fayette County jury convicts man in double murder trial
After eight hours of deliberation, a Fayette County jury has found a Detroit man guilty of murder in the deaths of two people who were shot and killed at a Lexington apartment in 2019, according to prosecutors and the Department of Public Advocacy.
Antonio “Tyree” Gaskin, 45, was found guilty after a four-day trial on two murder counts and two counts of failure to report the deaths of Sharmaine Carter, 25, and Marquis Harris, 24. The jury recommended that Gaskin be sentenced to life in prison on his murder convictions with the possibility of parole after 20 years.
The jury also recommended a 90-day sentence for Gaskin’s failures to report the deaths, according to the office of the Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney. The sentencing recommendation was announced around 3 a.m. Friday morning.
Fayette Commonwealth’s Attorney Lou Anna Red Corn said that prosecutors Katie Webster and Jackie Alexander “did an outstanding job building the case against Gaskin brick by brick.”
The trial came nearly three years after Carter and Harris were found dead at the Crystal Gardens Apartments on Alexandria Drive.
In the course of the four-day trial, prosecutors argued that cell phone evidence and video footage placed Gaskin at the scene of the crime. They also argued that a witness saw Gaskin with Harris just before the shooting and identified Gaskin in a photo.
Gaskin’s defense team, which featured attorneys Sarah Langer and J. Parker Mincy, argued that the witness may have inaccurately identified Gaskin because he was originally shown only Gaskin’s photo.
Defense attorneys also argued during the trial that prosecutors had left too many questions unanswered, and other suspects should have been investigated further before accusing Gaskin of the crime.
Following the trial, Gaskin’s defense team maintained that they still believe Gaskin is innocent and they plan to appeal the conviction.
“All around the criminal justice system has failed in this case,” Gaskin’s attorneys said in a statement to the Herald-Leader. “We send our heartfelt condolences to the Carter and Harris families. Many legal issues arose in this case that make it appropriate for an appeal. We believe in Tyree.
“We will not stop fighting for him; we will not stop fighting to prevent another innocent person from spending their life in prison.”
Joshua Powell, an investigator with the Capital Trials Branch who worked on Gaskin’s defense team, said he disagreed with the verdict but respected it.
“My condolences go out to Sharmaine Carter and Marquis Harris families for their tragic loss. I had the privilege of speaking to both families and expressed my sympathy for their loss,” he said. “This case was extremely complex and an emotional strain on all parties.”
Powell said there were over 100,000 pages of records shared with the defense team days before the trial started and it was an “insurmountable task” to review all the documents.
Gaskin is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 31 by Fayette Circuit Judge Thomas Travis, who presided over the trial.
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