Man faces murder charge after street brawl escalates to fatal shooting in West Palm Beach
Police found 24-year-old Trejean Crosby dead from gunshot wounds on March 25. He had fought with another man along Broadway hours earlier.
WEST PALM BEACH — A fight between two men in West Palm Beach last month led to gunfire that left one man dead and the other facing a murder charge, police said in announcing the arrest of a Riviera Beach man this week.
Investigators say Paul Blackshear, 49, shot and killed 24-year-old Trejan Crosby after the two fought outside a convenience store early on the morning of March 25. Blackshear is facing one count each of first-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Blackshear did not appear for a court hearing Wednesday, April 10 at the Palm Beach County Jail. Circuit Judge Donald Hafele assigned Blackshear a public defender and ordered that he be held without bail on the murder charge.
As a policy, the county Public Defender's Office does not comment on open cases. Blackshear's arrest report says he denied to investigators any role in Crosby's death.
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A West Palm Beach police report indicates the fatal shooting occurred at about 1:30 a.m. March 25 on the 4900 block of Broadway, just east of St. Mary's Medical Center. Witnesses told investigators Crosby had gotten into fights with multiple people that morning, including Blackshear.
One woman said Crosby and a group of others were hanging out that morning and drinking, which often led to Crosby becoming argumentative and aggressive.
A witness said Crosby and Blackshear got into a fight in front of a Walgreens pharmacy on the 4600 block of Broadway, near 45th Street. Crosby knocked out some of Blackshear's teeth and split his lip, the witness said.
After the fight, Crosby and two other people ended up in front a gas station about three blocks north of the Walgreens. A witness said Crosby left there to cross Broadway when Blackshear approached and shot him.
Gunshots could be heard on the gas station's surveillance camera footage, and Blackshear was seen running back across Broadway and out of the camera's view moments later, police said.
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Another surveillance video captured about 90 minutes before the shooting showed Blackshear enter a rideshare vehicle, police said. A response from Uber to a search warrant identified Blackshear as the passenger. Police this week obtained a warrant to collect DNA from Blackshear, and then took him into custody.
While being questioned, Blackshear confirmed he had been in a fight with Crosby, the arrest report said. He told investigators he took an Uber back to his house earlier in the night to change and then returned to the gas station.
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He identified himself when shown still images from the gas station's surveillance cameras. However, he denied having any knowledge about Crosby's murder and declined to speak further.
The police report did not indicate a place of residence for Crosby.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.