Jury acquits Pensacola 20-year-old in 2023 killing of Angel Bailey
An Escambia County jury took just a few hours June 11 to acquit a Pensacola man charged with murdering 32-year-old Angel Bailey in 2023.
The jury found Nathaniel Cunningham Jr. not guilty of second-degree murder at the end of a two-day trial June 10 and 11.
Following Cunningham's acquittal, his attorney Greg Whibbs told the News Journal this case was a "big win" for his client as it kept Cunningham from a potential life sentence in a Florida prison.
According to Willie Agee, the owner of the Mission Road home in which the incident took place, the shooting occurred after an argument about Bailey's cellphone.
"Agee stated he was in his room watchin TV when Bailey and Cunningham Jr. came to his room arguing because Bailey was accusing Cunningham Jr. of stealing her iPhone," a report said. "Agee stated that he let Bailey borrow his phone so that she could call to report her phone stolen."
Agee told law enforcement he heard gunshots roughly four to five minutes later. During Agee's recorded 911 call in 2023, he told the operator that he thinks his grandson "Nate" killed Bailey.
In another 911 recording McGraw played during the trial, Bailey is speaking with a dispatcher about reporting her phone as stolen. During the call, Bailey begins screaming and saying, "No! Please don't shoot me."
Throughout the trial, Whibbs asked questions of witnesses pertaining to the person named "Nate" from the 911 call made by Agee. Whibbs told the jury there were multiple people who use the nickname "Nate" who were at or near the Mission Road home March 25, 2023, when the shooting occurred.
That coupled with the fact crime scene technicians did not find any DNA evidence or fingerprints at the scene directly linking Cunningham to the shooting seemingly led the jury to acquit the 20-year-old.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Cunningham's cellphone saved tracking data that placed him at the 2900 block of Mission Road just minutes before the shooting took place, but Whibbs argued that evidence does not prove anything beyond a reasonable doubt as that just shows a phone's location, not who is in possession of the phone.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Nathaniel Cunningham not guilty of murdering Angel Bailey
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