Amerson’s 2014 mugshot, courtesy of Sanford Police Department.

Pierre Amerson, accused in the 2014 killing of a 15-year-old West Lee Middle School student, will go to trial on murder and other charges this month.

Police accused Amerson in March of 2014 with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon after 15-year-old Thomas “Junior” Dolby Jr. was shot to death on Pineland Street in Sanford.

Amerson eluded custody for several days before being located and detained at a Fayetteville-area motel, according to this contemporaneous report from the Sanford Herald (subscription required).

The same report described Dolby, known to friends and family as “Junior,” as “a great kid” and a “wonderful person.”

“He was a good young man,” (former West Lee Principal Melvin) Marshall said. “This is something we are still finding a way to grapple with. The one thing about Junior was the smile on his face. He had so many friends at West Lee, and he was just one of those young men you could look at and see that smile on his face. That was Junior.”

The murder case against Amerson will begin in Lee County Superior Court on Monday, March 19. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

Before that trial can begin, Amerson will deal with charges he appears to have racked up since his arrest. He’s scheduled to face charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer and possession of a phone of communication device by an inmate beginning Monday, March 5.

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