AKRON, Ohio — Since Na'Kia Crawford was murdered, 870 days have passed. On the 871st day, the man accused of killing her will stand trial.
Adarus Black, 19, is charged with murder. He was 17 years old at the time of the shooting. The death penalty is not an option in this case. If convicted, Black could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
On Wednesday morning, opening statements will get underway in Summit County Common Pleas Court followed by testimony. The trial is expected to last about a week.
The case received national attention when civil rights attorney Ben Crump suggested the killing was racially motivated, which was later dispelled by the FBI and Akron police.
Crawford's paternal grandmother, Saria Crawford, said waiting for answers and an arrest in the high-profile crime has been very difficult.
"I need closure. I want justice. I want justice to be served. I want justice served," she said. "I want to look him in the eye and I want him to admit what he did."
On June 14, 2020, Nakia, 18, was driving her maternal grandmother home after running errands when shots were fired into her car from another car at a stoplight located at North and Howard Streets in Akron.
She was hit by bullets and died at an Akron hospital. The grandmother wasn't injured.
Akron police said Na'Kia, a graduate of North High School who was planning to attend Central State University, was in the wrong place at the wrong time and called the murder a case of "mistaken identity."
The family's pastor, R. Stacey Jenkins, said the senseless murder continues to take a toll on her loved ones.
"The emotional toll, you can only imagine— devastated, snatched, snuffed out and mistaken identity," Jenkins said. "It was a heinous crime."
Black was identified as the murder suspect by Akron police, but investigators believe Black hid in various parts of the country for 20 months.
He was arrested last February in Georgia by members of the Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force (NOVFTF) along with the Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Sandy Springs Police Department’s SWAT Team.
Officers said Black had a loaded AK-47 on him and was living in Atlanta under a fake name with a bogus California driver's license.
Saria Crawford said her granddaughter had a happy spirit and a love for her entire family. She was planning to study computer science in college.
Several family members are planning to attend the jury trial presided over by Judge Kelly McLaughlin.
"He has people that are fighting to free him and we don't want to see that happen. All of us have to be the voice for Na'Kia," Saria Crawford.
News 5 reached out to one of Black's attorneys, John Alexander, for comment ahead of the trial. In a response, Alexander said, "I cannot really comment at this time."
Jenkins said there is no degree of justice that can bring a life back, so as the case that outraged many in the Akron community heads to a courtroom, he'll continue to pray.
"You know what I'm praying for? I'm praying for peace for the Crawford family."
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
