WEST PALM BEACH — Two years after a gunman shot and killed a father in front of his son at a Lake Worth Beach apartment complex, jurors acquitted the man who pulled the trigger.
They deliberated for about three hours on July 25 before clearing Jason Nozistene, 24, of all charges. Persuaded by his self-defense claim, the jury’s verdict spared Nozistene a potential life sentence and paved the way for his release after more than 800 days in jail.
“As a team, we were all very grateful for the jury’s work in this case, for their diligent application of the facts to the law, and that they took their roles as jurors very seriously,” said Assistant Public Defender Megan Eaton. “We’re grateful that they got it right.”
Trial testimony painted a different picture than one told in arrest report
Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies initially said Nozistene murdered Leonardo Hernandez-Ramirez and tried to kill Mario Lopez-Miguel after a botched attempt to rob them outside of their Lake Worth Beach apartments on May 5, 2023…