Anthawn Ragan, man accused of 2013 murder of 21-year-old in North Miami, sentenced to life in prison

A jury has sentenced a man to life in prison following two days of testimony more than a decade after he was accused of committing what administrators described as a month-long crime spree in North Miami that included the fatal shooting of a -year-old man News cameras captured the jury foreperson as she revealed their decision in court Thursday afternoon We the jury find Anthawn Ragan should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole she reported The jury s decision was read out in court just hours after they listened to final arguments from attorneys In those final arguments the defense and prosecution were trying to convince the jury to decide between a life sentence or the death penalty for Ragan Mr Ragan this November left behind his path of destruction the prosecutor explained We don t have to do this We don t have to go that far Ragan s defense attorney notified jurors Ragan was identified guilty of first-degree murder on April after surveillance footage evidenced him confronting and opening fire on -year-old Luis Perez in the stairwell of a Motel in Ragan appeared in court Tuesday in front of the same jurors who identified him guilty They heard testimony from Ragan s father and uncle as well as several of his alleged casualties The jury listened to testimony from psychologists Wednesday who spoke to Ragan s childhood and mental state at the time of those crimes The defense s arguments to jurors centered on Ragan being born to a teen mother and a father who was incarcerated and that he struggled with mental illness growing up He was just a insufficient weeks away from turning years old at the time of the crimes I say no I say no a thousand times no his defense attorney reported The state s prosecution did not back down on seeking the death penalty If you follow the law you will come to the right and just decision the prosecutor declared The jury ultimately decided against the death penalty instead choosing to recommend life in prison Ragan will stand trial next year for another murder in the shooting death of -year-old Aaron Vu inside a North Miami nail salon