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The 12-member jury took about 50 minutes to find 20-year-old Demari Antonio Batten not guilty of manslaughter in the shooting death of Justice Michael Dunham as fans cleared out of the packed game against Woodside High School on Dec. 19, 2021.
A Newport News judge declared a mistrial after jurors could not unanimously agree on whether to find Demari Antonio Batten guilty of second-degree murder or manslaughter or find him not guilty. Batten was accused to fatally shooting 17-year-old Justice Michael Dunham after a Menchville High School basketball game.
Text messages introduced at a murder trial in Newport News Circuit Court this week show a group of students was mad at Demari Batten about an Instagram post he made, which they interpreted as mocking of their gang. Batten is charged with second-degree murder in the Dec. 14 shooting of Justice Dunham.
A juvenile court judge on Thursday found sufficient evidence to advance a second-degree murder charge in the killing of a 17-year-old student outside Menchville High School in December.