An accused child-killer used Facebook Live from inside a New Jersey jail to taunt a key witness — blasting the “snitch” for giving up his name to police.
With the help of his girlfriend, Tyhan “Butt Butt” Brown, an alleged member of the Centerville Bloods, made the covert post from inside Camden County Jail after reviewing 2,000 pages of statements from witnesses and residents who spoke to police about the August 2016 shooting death of 8-year-old Gabrielle Hill-Carter in Camden, Philly.com reports.
“I know who it is,” Brown said in the Facebook Live post. “Tell everyone in the gang to stay away from Mr. John Burgos. Word up!”
Burgos, 24, testified as a witness for prosecutors last week, saying that Brown, 20, told him he was involved in the gunfight that killed the girl, admitting that he was trying to shoot Amir Dixon — a suspected member of the Hoover Crips — but his gun jammed. Dixon was not hurt, but Gabrielle took a bullet to the head and died at a hospital days later.
Brown’s social media post was played Tuesday for a Superior Court jury in Camden, Philly.com reported. The post was made in March 2017 as he was awaiting trial in the alleged gang-related shooting, the Courier-Post reported.
“I want everybody to hear what I’ve got to say,” Brown told his then-girlfriend, Natasha Gerald, who set up the broadcast. “So many people gave statements and I don’t even know these people.”
Brown then called Burgos a “rat” and ordered “the gang to stay away” from him.
“What made him say my name?” Brown said.
The jury on Tuesday also heard a videotaped statement Brown gave to police after his arrest in Tennessee weeks after the shooting, Philly.com reports. Brown declined to put himself at the crime scene despite a detective’s persistent questions and a request to give the girl’s family some “peace” and closure. The detective then showed Brown a video of a cop carrying the girl’s body away from the shooting scene and asked the suspect what he would say to her family.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Brown said.
But when the detective asked later if Brown was sorry, he replied: “Sorry for what?”
Brown’s attorney, Adam Brent, downplayed witnesses for the prosecution, saying they were primarily criminals whose accounts of the shooting were marred by inconsistencies. There’s also no evidence placing Brown at the crime scene, Brent said.
Brown remains held in Camden County Jail on $1.5 million bail. He rejected a plea agreement that would’ve sent him to prison for 40 years. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.