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Courtney Kortazz Holmes charged in the Sept. 26, 2010 death of Edmond Braxton III. ORG XMIT: VANEW
Newport News Police Department / Daily Press
Courtney Kortazz Holmes charged in the Sept. 26, 2010 death of Edmond Braxton III. ORG XMIT: VANEW
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NEWPORT NEWS — A mistrial was declared for the third time against a Newport News man charged in a 2010 homicide.

A Newport News jury announced last week that it was hung in the state’s case against Courtney Holmes, 25. He is charged in the Sept. 26, 2010, shooting death of Edmond Braxton III. Braxton, 20, was gunned down in a shopping center near the corner of Warwick Boulevard and Colony Road.

This is the third jury in three years that couldn’t reach a resolution in the case.

The jury told a judge twice that they couldn’t come to a verdict after deliberating from 11:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The case has been set for a Dec. 15 docket call, where a new trial date will be set.

“I was disappointed because I thought we were going to get a not guilty verdict,” said Jimmy Ellenson, Holmes’ attorney.

Holmes was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and firearms charges.

During Holmes first trial in 2012, the jury announced it was hung twice. Juries don’t normally disclose the split, but a juror blurted out the breakdown in Holmes’ first jury trial, telling the judge its votes were locked at 11 to 1 — 11 guilty, 1 not guilty.

During the second trial in 2013 the deliberations took about 161/2 hours. The voting split was not announced in that trial, nor from the trial last week.

Braxton was gunned down in a shopping center parking lot. He was shot five times. Three gunshots hit his body as he ran from the shooter. As he lay on the ground, he was shot two more times.

Holmes denies killing Braxton. Holmes testified that he was at the shopping center that night but ran when he heard the gunshots.

Ellenson said that his biggest argument was that one of the witnesses testified that she was 19 feet away when the shooting occurred, but couldn’t pick Holmes out of a photo lineup. The witness testified that she remembered the shooter had on a white shirt.

There is not a limit as to how many times a defendant can be tried for a crime if the result continues to be hung by a jury, unless prosecutors decided to drop charges against the defendant the case will be reset for trial.

“We absolutely intend to try him again,” said Almetia Hardman, who prosecuted the case. “We will not rest until we see justice for the family of Edmond Braxton III.”

The attempted murder charge against Holmes is in connection to a friend of Braxton who was wounded during the shooting.

Braxton, who was known as “Lil-Man,” was a 2009 graduate of Warwick High School. He was the father of an infant son and was employed at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown.

Holmes remains in custody at Hampton Roads Regional Jail.

Speed can be reached by phone at 247-4778.