On the evening of November 5, 2020, 23-year-old Jermaine Jaquael Barber was shot in the Fayette Mall parking lot in Lexington, Kentucky, near the P.F. Chang’s and Cheesecake Factory restaurants around the mall’s 8 p.m. closing. Barber had arranged to meet 19-year-old Jessin Stateman of Danville; investigators say accounts conflicted about whether the meeting involved a shoe sale, a marijuana transaction, or a robbery. Stateman and an ex-girlfriend told police Barber got into their car, pistol-whipped Stateman and threatened to kill them before leaving the vehicle. As Barber walked away, Stateman fired multiple shots, striking Barber. Officers found Barber in the lot with a gunshot wound; he was taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died. Stateman was arrested nearby and initially charged with murder and criminal mischief. During the investigation Stateman said he had been selling marijuana to Barber and fired until his gun was empty because he was scared and trying to create distance. The case went to trial in January 2023 but the jury deadlocked; Stateman later pleaded guilty to manslaughter and criminal mischief under a plea agreement that exposed him to up to 15 years in prison.

Did anyone who knew Barber or was in the Fayette Mall area that night see what happened or have additional details?