Man convicted of killing a teenager in a botched robbery involving Yeezy sneakers. Chaos broke out

Adrian Cosby’s face looked mostly stony as Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Miguel M. de la O read the jury verdict that found him guilty of killing a teenage high school student during a botched robbery four years ago.

The father of Andrea Camps-Lacayo, the 18-year-old senior he was convicted of murdering, began to shake slightly as he began speaking during the sentencing phase.

And chaos reigned in courtroom 4-1 of Miami-Dade criminal court when Alex Camps turned on Cosby, called him a “monster” and then blamed his behavior on his upbringing.

“What the fuck are you talking about,” was one of the few things Cosby had previously said about four Miami-Dade Jail and law enforcement officers managing to subdue him as he tried to reach Camps and scale the low wall behind him where his family was located. and his friends were sitting.

READ MORE: Chaos erupts in courtroom after man convicted of killing teenagers attacks his father

At that moment, everyone in the courtroom stood up. Some were moving to hide. Others, angered by the verdict and Camps’ speech, were yelling at him and racing to leave the courtroom. About 20 minutes later, after order was restored, de la O read his sentence. Cosby had not returned.

Life imprisonment for the murder of Andrea Camps-Lacayo. Life imprisonment for the attempted murder of her boyfriend Sergio Berben. And 25 years for the attempted strong-arm robbery of a young couple who were students at the Terra Environmental Research Institute in West Kendall.

“Last time, I told you I couldn’t get justice,” De la O told the family. “This is a tragedy for everyone. They lost their son, you lost your daughter. And there’s nothing I can do for anyone.”

Jury says Cosby fired fatal shot

It took jurors less than two hours to decide that Cosby, 22, fired the bullet that killed Camps-Lacayo during a botched attempt to steal three pairs of rare and expensive sneakers from her boyfriend, Berben, in Homestead four years ago. Cosby became the second defendant found guilty in the case. In February, 24-year-old George Oshane Walton was sentenced to life in prison for his involvement in the murder.

READ MORE: Mother of girl killed in botched sneaker robbery tells killer: ‘You robbed us forever’

Jurors learned that Berben, through a friend, agreed to buy three pairs of Yeezys with a man named Eric Readon (a joint venture between rap superstar Kanye West and Addidas) for $935. Berben, a sneaker magnate, has been earning extra money by selling black market sneakers through his Instagram account since middle school.

On April 7, 2020, Berben and Readon had not yet decided where to meet, so Berben took Camps-Lacayo to breakfast.

While eating, Berben’s mobile phone rang. It was Readon reading, and he was telling her to meet him in a subdivision of Homestead. So Berben took off in the white Jeep Wrangler with Camps-Lacayo in the passenger seat. Once the couple entered the gated community, he spoke to Readon again, and Readon told him to park in front of an abandoned house down the street.

Berben told jurors that when Walton arrived instead of Readon, he was holding one pair of the shoes and his girlfriend was holding the other two. They started talking through the driver’s side window. Walton never displayed a gun or tried to steal the shoes.

But while they were talking, Berben said, he noticed Cosby in his side-view mirror, advancing towards the Jeep from behind. As Cosby approached Walton, he opened fire, hitting Berben’s left arm first, before the bullet exited and hit Camps-Lacayo in the abdomen.

Berben put the Jeep on the ground and ran outside the complex and called 911. Camps-Lacayo lost consciousness while holding a towel to his gunshot wound and listening to the 911 operator’s instructions.

Defense says Cosby was not the shooter

In his closing argument Friday, defense attorney Dustin Tischler pressed jurors about the lack of physical and forensic evidence presented at trial and said Berben was mistaken in identifying Cosby as the shooter.

He showed jurors how easy it is to make a mistake in a tense situation, noting that while Walton was wearing a white sweatsuit on the day of the shooting, he initially told police he was wearing a black shirt.

“This was an unspeakable tragedy. Andrea was a beautiful girl and had her whole life ahead of her,” Tischler said during closing arguments. “But he (Berben) made the mistake of producing and firing the firearm in those short seconds. “He said it was Cosby.”

In rebutting that claim, Miami-Dade Assistant State’s Attorney Sara Imm said she found it incredible that the defense expected jurors to believe that Cosby, who had previously been with Walton and was with him again after the murder, accidentally showed up in the Jeep. Camps-Lacayo was killed.

“The video (grainy and from afar) clearly shows who had the firearm,” he said.

After closing and before the explosion, Alex Camps put his arm around Berben and told her the family loved her.

Speaking to Berben, Camps said, “We want you to know that nothing that happened that day was your fault.” “This is actually the fault of the three beasts.”