Cameron Terrell

At 11:26 am, on October 1, 2017, using his father's Mercedes-Benz, Terrell drove two other members of the Rollin 90s Neighborhood Crips to the 7800 block of South Western Avenue, which is the territory of a rival gang, the Eight Tray Gangster Crips.^[13] Terrell would later claim that he thought the two other gang members were going to spray graffiti in the territory of their rivals.^[14]

As Terrell waited in the car, the two gang members approached 21-year-old Justin Holmes, who was with two friends. Holmes' friends ran away and he was asked about which gang he was from. After Holmes replied that he "doesn't gangbang", one of the gang members shot Holmes.^[15] The two gang members ran back to Terrell's car, which sped off. Holmes was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m.^[16]

After being arrested on October 12, Terrell was released on a $5 million bail on October 19 and was allowed to continue attending school while on bail. Terrell's presence at school angered a group of parents, who wrote a letter to the Palos Verdes Peninsula school board, in which they stated:^[17]

"At best, Terrell is a distraction to teachers, staff and other students. At worst, most law enforcement officers would say that allowing an 18-year-old gang member suspected of a felony to attend a high school presents a clear and present danger to other students."

In response to this, Terrell was required to complete his studies off campus.^[17]

Terrell's trial began on July 3, 2018, and he was represented by Jovan Blacknell. During the trial, 23 witnesses were called to testify. The main focus of the trial was on whether Terrell knew his two fellow gang members were going to murder someone. Blacknell argued that "Cameron didn’t expect to hear gunshots"^[7] and at best, Terrell was a "witness".^[18]

The prosecution argued that Terrell knew that they were going into a rival gang's territory to kill members of the rival gang. It was argued that Terrell participated in the murder to gain status within the gang and the jury was presented with images of Terrell posing with known gang members, wearing gang colors and using gang signs.^[18]

After a 10-day deliberation, the jury found Terrell not guilty. After the verdict was announced, the family of Justin Holmes shook their heads and walked out of the courtroom.^[7] Terrell made a statement to the media:^[18]

"I want to say rest in peace, Justin Holmes. He shouldn’t have died that day. I pray for his family every night."

After Terrell was acquitted, critics claimed that his race and affluent background helped him win the case. Richard Kania, a criminal justice professor at Jacksonville State University, stated that Terrell had the privilege of hiring a private defense attorney and that "he just doesn’t fit the image of a gangbanger".^[7]