A west Cocoa man has been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison for shooting his friend to death in a home where they both stayed in January 2022.

A Brevard County jury found KENDALL L. BRITT guilty on March 4 of one count of first-degree murder with a firearm based on evidence and testimony presented by prosecutors Kerri Fowler and Shane Williams. Circuit Judge Michelle Naberhaus immediately sentenced Britt, 30, to natural life in prison, the only allowable prison term in Florida for first-degree murder.

Brevard Sheriff’s Office agents said the shooting occurred as retaliation for an incident hours earlier at the Bacon Street house where the murder victim, Anthony “Donell” Greenwood, 49, argued with and battered Britt’s ex-girlfriend.

At trial, the ex-girlfriend and a new girlfriend at the time of the murder testified that Britt told them he shot and killed Greenwood.

In addition, Fowler and Williams presented evidence that included:

• Security video from a neighbor’s house that recorded the sound of 8-10 gunshots and showed the neighbor walk outside to investigate at the same time, 8:49 a.m.,  that she said she noticed a silver sedan Britt used in the driveway.  Britt claimed he had driven the car to a nearby market to buy cigarettes at that time and returned later to find Greenwood dead.

• Data from Britt’s mobile phone that showed he was at or near the home at the time of the shooting.

• Nine bullet casings found next to the victim’s body. The ammunition style and brand, Guilio Fiochi Lecco, matched unspent 9 mm casings found in a magazine that belonged to Britt. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement determined that the bullets that killed Greenwood were fired by the same type of 9 mm handgun that Britt owned.

After an eight-day trial in Viera, the jury deliberated for two hours before finding Britt guilty as charged.