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Second man charged with capital murder in killing of 7-yr-old Jazmine Barnes

Second man charged with capital murder in killing of 7-yr-old Jazmine Barnes
Second man charged with capital murder in killing of 7-yr-old Jazmine Barnes
A spokesman for the district attorney’s office declined to be more specific on what that evidence was.
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The man who authorities believe shot and killed a 7-year-old girl from the Houston area while she was in a car with her family was charged Tuesday with capital murder.

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The man, Larry D. Woodruffe, 24, had been in custody since he was arrested Saturday on a felony drug possession charge, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Since his arrest, investigators were able to gather “actual evidence” that led them to believe Woodruffe had fatally shot Jazmine Barnes, said Tom Berg, the Harris County first assistant district attorney, in a statement.

A spokesman for the district attorney’s office declined to be more specific on what that evidence was.

The murder charge against Woodruffe on Tuesday came on the day of Jazmine’s funeral. Two days earlier another man, Eric Black Jr., was charged with capital murder in Jazmine’s killing.

Authorities believe Black was driving the vehicle that Woodruffe fired from. A tip helped identify both men, authorities said.

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The sheriff’s office said authorities did not believe that Black and Woodruffe intended to target Jazmine or her family and that the case was one of mistaken identity.

Jazmine was in a car with her mother and three sisters on an early-morning coffee run on Dec. 30, when a car pulled up beside them and someone opened fire. A bullet struck Jazmine in the head and she died at the scene.

Black told investigators that Woodruffe was the only other passenger in the vehicle and they had mistaken the car Jazmine was in for a different car, a prosecutor said at a hearing earlier this week.

Investigators recovered a 9 mm pistol at Black’s home that they believe was used in the shooting, the prosecutor said at the hearing. He said the pistol was consistent with shell casings found at the scene of the shooting.

The case drew national attention as authorities initially said Jazmine was most likely shot and killed by a white man. Some believed it was a hate crime.

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Black’s arrest on Saturday upended that narrative. Both Black and Woodruffe are black.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday evening if Woodruffe had a lawyer. Alvin Nunnery is representing Black, according to the Harris County district clerk. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

Woodruffe is due in court Thursday for a hearing on the homicide charge.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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