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Man gets life sentence in Freedom High student's 2015 shooting death

 
David Brunson, 20, testifies at his first-degree murder trial in the 2015 shooting death of Freedom High School senior Eion Gustitis, 18. Brunson was sentenced Friday to life in prison. [OCTAVIO JONES   |   Times]
David Brunson, 20, testifies at his first-degree murder trial in the 2015 shooting death of Freedom High School senior Eion Gustitis, 18. Brunson was sentenced Friday to life in prison. [OCTAVIO JONES | Times]
Published April 20, 2018

TAMPA — After David Brunson murdered an 18-year-old Freedom High School senior, he told a witness the victim was "just some ghetto kid nobody will miss."

But people do miss Eion Gustitis.

More than two years after Gustitis was shot in the head in a remote lot, his mother, his aunt and strangers who never knew the teen sat together in a Tampa courtroom. They watched a judge order Brunson to serve life in prison.

"You robbed him of the opportunity to graduate from high school or the chance to fulfill his dreams," Carren Gustitis, the mother, told the defendant. "Your cold and callous decision permanently left an empty place in my heart.

"I will never hear him say, 'I love you, mom,' see him get married or have kids of his own, or have him hug and kiss me good night."

A jury in February found Brunson, 20, guilty of Gustitis' murder. Witnesses said the crime occurred because Brunson mistakenly believed Gustitis had stolen a cell phone and marijuana during a house party at a New Tampa apartment complex.

It happened a few days after Labor Day 2015.

Classmates and friends testified that Brunson developed a plan to kill Gustitis after he came to believe the teen had stolen the items. Gustitis, who had sold marijuana, had expressed interest in buying a gun and it was the promise of a .22 caliber firearm that lured him into a car with Brunson and two other teens, Ezekiel Marc and Kyra Cuadrado.

They drove to 9711 Commerce St. Cuadrado later testified that Brunson and Gustitis got out and walked off. A few minutes later, they heard a "pop."

Brunson then returned with Gustitis' shorts and wallet. He gave some of the money to Marc.

Tampa police Detective Neal Smith, who investigated the murder, doesn't usually speak at sentencing hearings. But Friday morning, he told Hillsborough Circuit Judge Christopher Sabella he felt compelled to tell the judge that the case, and Brunson's callousness, stood out to him.

"I just don't think he gets it," Smith said. "There is no empathy in what he did. And I would recommend life in prison because this person should not be walking free."

There was another side, told by Brunson's mother.

At his trial, Brunson testified that the shooting was an accident. Though the jury didn't buy it, his mother repeated that assertion when she addressed Sabella.

In a loud, tearful speech, Lisa Block implored the judge that her son was not a monster, that he had a hard childhood, that he was a decent kid who got involved with the wrong people.

"It was an accident that happened," she said. "No one seems to want to believe that."

Brunson, clad in an orange jail suit, slouched forward and dabbed at his eyes as she spoke.

Because he was 17 when he committed the murder, Florida's juvenile sentencing laws required the judge to consider a number of factors, including the circumstances and the defendant's maturity, before sentencing.

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Defense attorney Rick Terrana asked the judge to impose a 40-year sentence.

The judge noted that no matter what, the law still allows Brunson to have a sentencing review after 25 years.

Assistant State Attorney Joseph Diaz asked for life, noting the calculation and planning Brunson took and the lengthy premeditation.

"Eion Gustitis is gone," Diaz said. "Eion Gustitis doesn't get a review and a chance to come back."

Contact Dan Sullivan at dsullivan@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3386. Follow @TimesDan.