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Knox County murder defendant: 'I didn't know I was going to kill him'

Isaiah Styles is charged with murdering Mekhi Luster in April 2018 after a busted drug deal.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — UPDATE: A young Knox County man tearfully insisted he didn't know and didn't plan to kill an 18-year-old he met in April 2018 during what was supposed to be a $375 marijuana deal.

Knox County jurors on Tuesday heard Isaiah Styles, then 18, offering his side of what happened the night of April 23, 2018, when he shot and killed Mekhi Luster, 18, in the yard of a West Knox County home.

Knox County prosecutors played for the jury a recording of Styles' interview from a hospital room with Knox County Sheriff's Office Investigator Jeremy McCord.

Styles had gone with a close friend to the neighborhood to buy "two zips," or ounces, of marijuana from Luster, evidence shows.

Styles told McCord that Luster also had a pistol, and when the drug deal suddenly got confrontational, he "snatched" the gun from Luster.

The young man told the investigator he hesitated before firing the pistol. He feared Luster was about to hurt his friend, Sovereign Matthews, against whom authorities have filed numerous drug-related charges in recent years.

Styles recalled seeing "Dude drop to the ground."

"I didn't know I was going to kill him or nothing," he said.

Luster would later be pronounced dead at an area hospital.

Styles and Matthews, nicknamed "Bruno," fled the scene and ended up at Styles' mother's nearby home. He told McCord he stayed up all night thinking about what had happened and told his girlfriend, "Baby, I think I just killed somebody."

Styles, now 22, is charged in Knox County Criminal Court with first-degree and felony murder among other counts. The trial started Monday. Judge Kyle Hixson is presiding over the trial.

The defendant is represented by attorneys Gregory P. Isaacs and Franklin Ammons. The case is being prosecuted by Heather Good and TaKisha Fitzgerald.

Styles is in custody. Matthews also was a scheduled witness in the trial.

Knox County authorities tracked Styles to his home the morning after the killing. He fled and was eventually flushed out from under a garage when a K-9 found him and bit him.

He was taken to an area hospital for treatment. That's when McCord interviewed him about Luster's killing.

Early in the interview, Styles appeared to McCord less than forthcoming with his version of events.

"You're screwing yourself if you lie to me," the investigator cautioned at one point on the recording.

PREVIOUS STORY: A 22-year-old Knoxville man is on trial this week in a 2018 killing that authorities said involved a drug deal gone bad.

Isaiah Styles is charged with felony murder, first-degree murder, robbery and theft among other charges in Knox County Criminal Court.

His trial started Monday before Judge Kyle Hixson.

He's accused of murdering Mekhi Luster in April 2018 in the Amber Glades Lane neighborhood in West Knox County.

A $65 marijuana deal may have been a factor in the crime, according to authorities.

Knox County deputies found the 18-year-old Luster shot in the backyard of a home on the street. He was later pronounced dead at University of Tennessee Medical Center.

RELATED: Fulton High School seniors remember classmates Zaevion Dobson and Mekhi Luster

Officials at the time said they didn't think the deal was connected to any homes in the area.

Credit: Submitted
Mekhi Luster, 18, was shot and killed after a drug deal in West Knox County, according to KCSO.

The following day, authorities tracked Styles, then 18, to his mother's home in the Farmington neighborhood, where he allegedly took off running and jumped over fences.

Deputies found him hiding under a garage and took him into custody.

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