Life sentence for Kierra Russ confirmed for Club Blu shooting

In the trial of Kierra Russ, it was revealed that she had sent a series of text messages on the night of the massacre in which she communicated which cars certain participants were in.

More than two years after a Lehigh Acres woman was convicted for her role in the shooting deaths of two people at a Fort Myers nightclub eight years ago, the Florida Sixth District Court of Appeals has upheld her conviction.

Kierra Russ, 26, was found guilty on May 3, 2022, of two counts of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder following the incident at the Blue Bar and Grill club in Fort Myers. She was sentenced to life in prison on June 6 of the same year.

Her lawyer Douglas Molloy appealed the life sentence the following day.

Russ insisted during her trial that she had nothing to do with the incident, was not a member of any gang and had only come to the nightclub to perform by invitation. She sent a series of text messages to alert the shooters just before dozens of shots rang out across the club's parking lot.

The early morning shooting at the Fort Myers nightclub in a plaza at the corner of Evans Avenue and Carrell Road left 18-year-old Ste'fan Strawder and 14-year-old Sean Archilles dead. More than 100 bullets flew around them as a teen dance ended at the club, and 14 people were injured.

No trial date has yet been set for four other defendants, Tajze Akiir Battle (30), Derrick Leon Church (27), Demetrius O'Neal (27), all of Fort Myers, and Dontrill Loggins (31) of Lehigh Acres.

For her part, Russ sobbed, her shoulders rising and falling, her head on the table as the jury convicted her just over two years ago.

The verdict in Russ' case came three days after Assistant District Attorney Anthony W. Kunasek, 55, was found dead in his Eagle Ridge home in Fort Myers. Kunasek prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Sara Miller.

During the trial, Assistant District Attorney Sara Miller said that various disputes between two gangs – One Way and Bottom Boys – ultimately led to the gunshot deaths of Strawder and Archilles.

At Russ's jury trial, it was determined that the conflict began with a fight at Dunbar High School, where Russ was a student.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Russ was at the nightclub the night of the shooting. In the hectic scene, people were running for cover and ducking to avoid being shot.

A text message exchanged between Russ and O'Neal in which Russ stated that she had seen a member of the opposing group “in complete freedom” would be enough to charge her with two counts of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder – even if she knew that the four men would actually commit these acts, Miller said at trial two years ago.

Russ promised that after the party she would “check” to see what cars the “opps” were driving and passed the information on to the four men. Soon after, cars stopped before shots were fired.

Russ was tried separately from Loggins, O'Neal, Church and Battle.

Tomas Rodriguez is a breaking/live news reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. Reach Tomas at [email protected] or 772-333-5501. Reach him on threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

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Life sentence for Kierra Russ confirmed for Club Blu shooting

In the trial of Kierra Russ, it was revealed that she had sent a series of text messages on the night of the massacre in which she communicated which cars certain participants were in.

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