THE DARK SIDE OF FLORIDA
Blaine Barber
#E29105
Full Name: Blaine Svven Barber
Date of birth: May 15, 1986
Conviction: 2nd-degree murder
County: Brevard
City: Melbourne
Current Location: Calhoun Correctional Institution
Date of crime: May 6, 2004
Tentative discharge date: April 28, 2022
Victim(s): Royce McCain
Date of birth: May 15, 1986
Conviction: 2nd-degree murder
County: Brevard
City: Melbourne
Current Location: Calhoun Correctional Institution
Date of crime: May 6, 2004
Tentative discharge date: April 28, 2022
Victim(s): Royce McCain
One of the two suspects in the May 6, 2004, shooting death of a college security guard had been in and out of jail on unrelated charges four times since the slayings. Anthony Johnson, 19, whose lengthy list of offenses ranges from speeding and not wearing a seat belt to burglary and drug possession, was facing murder charges.
Anthony and Blaine Barber, 18, were accused of first-degree murder and armed robbery in the killing of Royce McCain. The 63-year-old former Baltimore police officer and Vietnam veteran, who took the job to earn a little spending money, was found shot to death before dawn in a wooded area on the Melbourne campus of the Florida Institute of Technology. Police said a tip led them to the two suspects.
Police said that robbery was likely the motive. “They got his wallet, but we don’t know what was in it,” police said. The victim’s son said Royce didn’t carry a gun or much cash. Although he was a big man at 6 feet, 6 inches tall, he didn’t stand much of a chance when the armed suspects “jumped out of the bushes to rob him,” police said.
Prosecutors said that Anthony, 24, and Blaine, went to the college campus that night looking for someone to rob and chose Royce at random. Anthony has said he was with his girlfriend the night of the killing. But Blaine, who prosecutors said admitted he reached into Royce’s pocket and stole the wallet containing $110, testified during Anthony’s trial that Anthony pulled the trigger.
Anthony and Blaine Barber, 18, were accused of first-degree murder and armed robbery in the killing of Royce McCain. The 63-year-old former Baltimore police officer and Vietnam veteran, who took the job to earn a little spending money, was found shot to death before dawn in a wooded area on the Melbourne campus of the Florida Institute of Technology. Police said a tip led them to the two suspects.
Police said that robbery was likely the motive. “They got his wallet, but we don’t know what was in it,” police said. The victim’s son said Royce didn’t carry a gun or much cash. Although he was a big man at 6 feet, 6 inches tall, he didn’t stand much of a chance when the armed suspects “jumped out of the bushes to rob him,” police said.
Prosecutors said that Anthony, 24, and Blaine, went to the college campus that night looking for someone to rob and chose Royce at random. Anthony has said he was with his girlfriend the night of the killing. But Blaine, who prosecutors said admitted he reached into Royce’s pocket and stole the wallet containing $110, testified during Anthony’s trial that Anthony pulled the trigger.