Jurors on Thursday convicted two men of murder and acquitted a third defendant in the fatal shooting of a Signal Hill man who’d been lured to an apartment complex near Poly High School where he was robbed and killed.
Prosecutors allege Jalen Jackson, Jahi Jackson, and Saeed Wheeler convinced 31-year-old Nashon Wall to meet them in the 700 block of Esther Avenue on Feb. 2, 2022, under the pretext of buying weed from him.
Instead, the three men robbed Nashon at gunpoint, with Jalen firing the fatal shots, prosecutors alleged.
Support facts not fear
News happens fast. In the midst of crime, disasters and other breaking news, the Long Beach Post has reporters and photographers who run to the scene to bring you reliable information. If you value this vital community resource, support it with a tax-deductible donation.
The trial against Jalen, Jahi, and Wheeler began late last month. It centered around surveillance video from the nearby apartment complex — including one that captured the three men running away from Wall’s vehicle with guns in their hands shortly after the shooting — and information from each defendant’s social media accounts.
Deputy District Attorney Karen Brako presented evidence that she said revealed how Jahi Jackson was looking up weed dealers on Instagram while plotting to rob one of them in the weeks leading up to the shooting.
At some point, Jahi messages someone on Instagram asking whether he knows any dealers, Brako said. Jahi follows up by asking the person whether he cares if he robs the dealer, she said.
On Feb. 2, 2022, Jalen called Wall and asked to buy weed from him, Brako said. Phone records show Jalen also called Wall multiple times after that, including just moments before killing.
Surveillance from the nearby apartment complex shows three men whom authorities identified as Jalen, Jahi, and Wheeler, hanging around the area. A white SUV eventually arrives nearby and Wheeler hands a backpack off to its driver.
They clear the area, and minutes later a camera captures them in the courtyard of the apartment complex as they make their way toward Esther Street where Wall was waiting for them in a white sedan, the video shows.
Within seconds of exiting the apartment complex, the three men identified by authorities as Jalen, Jahi and Wheeler surround Wall’s car from each side, the video shows.
That’s when Jalen opens the front passenger door, and Wheeler opens the back passenger door behind Wall while Jahi lags behind, according to Brako’s description of the video.
Though the video doesn’t show when the fatal shots were fired, Brako said other evidence, such as ballistics and a coroner’s report, shows Wall was struck by bullets from the side Jalen had opened the door. Wheeler, meanwhile, fired a single shot that went through the car windshield and didn’t strike Wall, she added.
The three men can then be seen on video running away from Wall’s vehicle, each of them holding a gun in their hand, Brako said.
Officers rushed to the scene of the shooting and found Wall unresponsive in the roadway next to his car, police said. He died shortly after at the hospital from his injuries, police said
Over the next three months, Wheeler was identified as one of the suspects in the case. Wheeler, according to Brako, was arrested in connection to an assault with a deadly weapon in Los Angeles just a few weeks after Wall’s slaying.
During that arrest, the Los Angeles Police Department seized a gun from him and conducted ballistics tests, Brako said. They presented their findings to the Long Beach Police Department who matched the cartridges to the one found where Wall was killed.
Jalen and Jahi were both taken into custody in connection to the deadly shooting over the following months. In addition to the surveillance footage from the apartment complex, detectives used the suspect’s Instagram posts, which showed them showing off guns and wearing the same clothes they had on the day of the shooting, Brako said.
Jahi, according to Brako, also broke down the surveillance tape for officers during questioning and placed each defendant at the scene of the crime.
“That’s the car where that shit happened,” Brako said Jahi told officers. “That’s the kill shot right there.”
Jahi later went on and told a man working as an undercover operative in jail that Wall was in the area thinking he was there to sell them some weed, Brako said.
During closing arguments, Brako told jurors that all three defendants were guilty of the charges against them and that the evidence proved their intent and preparation as a group.
“In our case, all three are perpetrators,” Brako said. “Everyone has a role in our scenario of how they aided and abetted the murder.”
Evidence shows Jahi was trying to find someone to rob in the weeks before Jalen lured Wall to the area, and Wheeler took part in the robbery where he fired at least one shot, Brako said. Each of them was armed, Brako added.
“Why are you going to take a loaded weapon to a robbery if you don’t intend to use it,” Brako asked the jurors to consider.
Jalen’s attorney, Jack Fuller, never denied that his client killed Wall, but he denied the prosecutor’s theory that the defendants planned to rob the 31-year-old.
He said the fact that they didn’t take any money from Wall and that the shooting happened almost immediately after they approached the car disproved the robbery allegation.
“You do not see anyone carry anything from that car,” Fuller said. “There was no plan to rob.”
Wheeler’s attorney, William Ringgold, conceded that his client was responsible for Wall’s death, and maintained that it wasn’t a robbery. But he asked the jurors to come back with a verdict of second-degree murder.
He said the evidence showed that Wheeler didn’t approach Wall with any intent to kill him. He implied Wheeler went with Jalen and Jahi that night to buy weed or back them up in case they had “beef” with Wall.
“He’s not a perfect individual, but he’s not a killer,” Ringgold said. “He’s not a leader in this at all, he’s a follower.”
Jahi’s attorney, Kieran Brown, denied the charges against his client and said he felt the evidence presented by Brako wasn’t enough to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
“There’s no evidence that he knew anyone was going to be shot,” Brown said, referring to Jahi. He added that the surveillance video showed Jahi, who never entered the car, with a visceral reaction following the shooting.
Brako, however, said there was enough evidence to reasonably suggest each defendant was guilty of murder and robbery.
“They call the victim ahead of time,” Brako said. “Within a second of hanging up the phone, they’re surrounding the victim’s car.”
“If it’s not a robbery, it’s an execution.”
Ultimately, jurors deliberated for multiple days before finding Jalen and Wheeler guilty of second-degree murder.
Jurors, however, decided there was not enough evidence to convict Jahi of murder and acquitted him of the charge. Jahi was found guilty only of possessing a concealed, unregistered firearm, an allegation that stemmed from police seizing a gun from him on the day of his arrest.
In addition to second-degree murder, Jalen was found guilty of possessing a concealed, unregistered firearm at the time of his arrest. Jurors also found true the allegation that he used a firearm in the commission of the crime true.
Wheeler was additionally found guilty of one count each for being a felon in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of ammunition.
The three men were each acquitted of a robbery charge stemming from the deadly shooting.
Jahi is due back in court for sentencing on March 19, while Jalen is due back on March 21 and Wheeler on March 26.