A Daytona Beach man who catfished and killed a teenager who he thought was spreading rumors about him being gay was convicted on Thursday and sentenced to life in prison.
Jakari Webb, 21, was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury that deliberated for about two hours. Circuit Judge Randell Rowe III sentenced Webb to the mandatory life in prison without parole at the end of the trial at the Volusia County Courthouse in DeLand.
Webb Took Images from Semi-Pro Basketball Player's Instagram Account, Made a Fake Profile
Webb, who was 19 at the time, shot and killed 19-year-old Telan Mann on June 23, 2022. But first Webb "catfished" Mann, a ploy in which Webb pretended to be someone he was not on social media as he communicated with Mann.
He took a collage of pictures from an Instagram account of a semi-pro basketball player from Orlando. He then used those pictures in his Instagram messages to Mann.
Webb lured Mann to a meeting near Oak Tree Circle and Forest Glen Boulevard, according to court documents. Webb was hiding behind a grassy berm before emerging and shooting Mann nine times. One of the shots was fatal.
Mann was Spreading Rumors About Webb Being Gay and Some People Started Believing it
Investigators found text messages between Webb and Mann on the latter's cellphone and realized the motive behind the shooting was retribution.
Webb told police Mann "started saying Webb was gay a couple years ago and that some people began to believe it," the affidavit stated. Webb then admitted to creating a fake Instagram account to "get back" at Mann.
