While facing murder charges that could lead to them spending the rest of their lives behind bars, two teenage suspects didn’t think about ways to get out of jail. Instead, the misguided teens could only desired to accumulate more followers on social media.
According to WYFF in South Carolina, Daniel Gibbs, 19, Albert Taylor, 22, and Jamari Fair, 18, were in the courtroom facing charges when Taylor asked the judge and odd question. “What are those cameras for?” Taylor asked. The judge responded by telling the defendants that it was the news media.
Taylor and Gibbs then looked to the cameras and began to request social media followers. “What’s up, y’all? Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud,” Gibbs said. Taylor followed by saying, “Follow me on Instagram, Snapchat.” Fair remained quiet.
Ironically, the suspects are accused of killing someone who they had beef with on social media. After days of going back and forth on social media with Kejuan Brown, 17, the trio, and an unnamed 15-year-old, went to the Tri-City Lanes bowing alley in Esley, South Carolina to meet Brown and fight. However, the fight got out of hand and Brown was allegedly shot to death by one of the suspects. Witnesses saw the getaway car and were able to notify authorities. They were arrested at a store a few miles away from the murder scene.
The requests for social media followers reveals a lack of understanding or severe mental illness. The teenage suspects have viewed the circumstance as a joke and simply won’t realize the severity of their crime until their freedom is taken away. At 19 and 22, it may be easy to laugh at such ridiculousness. But that joke will not be funny when they are 45 years-old and their life has been reduced to a jail cell.
Each suspect is facing charges that include murder, assault and battery by a mob and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
