Grieving families share insights

Loved ones of two men who died recently talk about them and continue to hope for resolution of the homicide cases.

By Andy Fillmore andy@ocalagazette.com

The investigations of the shooting deaths of two local teens in June remains open as their two families continue to grieve.

Lezarius “Lee” Graham, 17, and Tylique Le’John Christie,18, both died in separate incidents in June as a result of gun violence.

Graham’s mother, Sakemia Jones, said her life will never be the same since “Lee,” who was soon be a father himself— was found deceased by a lawn maintenance worker on June 7 in a wooded area in the 4200 block of Northwest 21st Avenue.

Jones, 40, met recently at her northwest Marion County home, where Graham was living, to give a profile of her son.

“I miss my baby; they didn’t have to take my baby,” Jones said. She said her son, the youngest of three siblings, was her “everything” and in her grief, even eating has been difficult.

Graham died of gunshot wounds and Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) officials said the homicide case remains open.

Graham was born in Leesburg but grew up here. He attended Lake Weir High School and played football there. He was completing his General Educational Development (GED) diploma at Marion Acceleration Academies in The Cascades in Ocala and was nearly finished, Jones said. He was working at

Popeye’s Chicken in Belleview up to five days a week and going to classes at least three days a week, Jones said, and his sights were set on joining the military. Graham was considering either the U.S. Army or U.S. Navy.

She said her son’s child, a girl, was born about two weeks after his death.

“Lee was very proud (to be a father). He went to Target and bought a lot of things (for the baby). He didn’t want to ask anybody for anything, but he wanted to hold his own,” Jones said.

She called her son “very mature.”

Jones said now she will have to be the surrogate “dad” for her granddaughter and be there for her “for the rest of her life.”

Jones said she phones her granddaughter’s mother or visits the child daily.

Tiasha Gaines, Jones’ sister and Graham’s aunt, said he was keen on financial matters and economizing.

Gaines said her nephew had the “mind of a 30-year-old” and “tried to make sense” by questioning things and asking “why, why, why.”

“Lee made an impression.

I saw Facebook posts like, ‘Your son helped me carry my groceries,’” Gaines said.

Graham enjoyed rap music, family members said. He gave his mom a purse on Valentine’s Day and six bottles of perfume on Mother’s Day.

“Lee was funny, a big jokester … (he) wanted to be somebody …

I was proud of him,” Jones said. Meanwhile, Tylique Le’John Christie,18, was found critically injured June 19 when deputies responded to reports of “multiple shots fired” in the 4400 block of Northwest 22nd Avenue. He died the next morning at a local hospital.

His grandmother, Angela Christie, said the family moved here in 1992 from New York and that he was born in Marion County. She said her grandson attended Forest High School and Lake Weir High School and played football and basketball. She said he was on both YMCA and traveling basketball teams. She described him as a “social butterfly; lots of friends and dating” who had a good relationship with his family.

“He was so funny; he loved to dance,” she said.

Angela Christie said her grandson was hoping to start his own business and wanted to get his CDL (Commercial Driver’s License).

“Ty was 18 and obviously had friends that we did not know personally. After his death, we found out that those friends were not people we would have preferred for him to be around. We always have supported him and allowed him to have his own identity and unfortunately some of the choices of friendship we did not deem appropriate,” Angela Christie texted.

“We don’t know what happened, we have a lot of questions,” she said.

Tylique’s aunt, Chenora AdjeiChristie, moved to Texas in 2021 and was working there as a social worker until she returned to the Marion County area after her nephew’s death.

When living here previously, she took Tylique to school daily through his sophomore year in high school.

“This has been very difficult for our family, very hard,” AdjeiChristie said in a phone interview. She called Tylique the “life of the party” and always attended family holiday get- togethers.

“Tylique was very sociable and popular, always smiling and happy, and loved family gatherings,” she said. “Tylique’s not here. I want to call him. He used to text and say, ‘Heyuntie.’”

Adjei-Christie said her nephew had “struggled in school” and was a “typical teen” but was taking online classes to complete his diploma. She said he was “very talented” and “loved basketball.”

According to the Lake Weir High School post at MaxPreps. com, Tylique Christie was a standout in basketball. “Tylique is ranked in the top 98 in Division 4A for 1 stat, top 9 in 4A District 6 for 1 stat.,” the website states.

Joanne Cornell-Ohlman, a friend of the Christie family, stated in a text that family members who “adored” Tylique “painted canvas tributes with his nickname “Leek” and basketballs all over them.”

“I think basketball was his coping skill; he could be himself on the court,” she said.

She said he had looked toward a career that didn’t require college attendance.

“I think he was struggling with his future and where he would fit in (but) people loved him and he wasn’t isolated,” Adjei-Christie said.

Adjei-Christie said she doesn’t understand what is happening in the area with multiple homicides but wishes the community could be more proactive to avoid the shooting deaths.

“Tylique was a loving young man who loved his family. There are always going to be people who want to blame the victim or their family; but I will not allow my nephew to be blamed for being a victim of gun violence,” AdjeiChristie stated in a text.

She said the family does not know Tylique’s friends and associates and did not know the other victim’s family.

She said the family is frustrated by a lack of information about Tylique’s death.

MCSO Public Information Officer Zach Moore stated in an email on July 17 that there’s “no further update” on the cases.

“We have been in contact with Major Crimes, and they advised there are no further updates at this time. Detectives are continuing to follow up on investigative leads and processing all available evidence in attempts to bring closure to these cases,” Moore wrote.