Deadly teen love triangle lands 2 in jail for 25 years

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A love triangle among students at Miramar High School turned into a murder in 2021 and resulted in two recent 25-year prison terms and a 20-year-old man who wanted to represent himself while awaiting trial in 2025 in Broward County, records show. .

Dwight “DJ” Grant was 18 years old and preparing to graduate when he disappeared on October 17, 2021. Detectives found him dead two days later. He suffered a knife wound to the neck and a sword wound to the chest when the killers left him behind bushes at an apartment complex near Sherman Circle North, police said.

Detectives reported finding surveillance video and text messages incriminating three of his fellow teenagers: Christie Parisien, Jaslyn Smith and Andre D. Clements III. According to police, Christie, then 17, was allegedly dating Andre, then 17, and Jaslyn, then 16, was their girlfriend.

Detectives also reported that evidence showed Clements viewed Grant as a romantic rival.

According to an arrest warrant in the case, Andre’s messages to Christie on Oct. 11, 2021, included “A murder will definitely happen soon,” “It’s going to be bloody,” and “Help me kill him.” Andre was upset that Grant had consensual sex with his ex-girlfriend, whom police have not publicly named.

According to police, Andre sent threatening text messages to his ex-girlfriend, referring to Grant. According to police, the messages included: “We have plans for this person… If he made you happy, get used to him not being here.”

Detectives accused Christie of luring Grant down a staircase six days later with the promise of sex. Andre was waiting there to ambush him with Jaslyn, police said.

“Andre and Jaslyn are captured on video carrying what appeared to be a lifeless victim out of the stairwell and throwing him to the ground,” Miramar Detective Pedro Interian wrote in his report, adding that the teenagers used cleaning supplies and a burning fire to try to get rid of the evidence.

After a grand jury indictment and their arrest, prosecutors filed charges against the trio on November 5, 2021, for first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Their attorneys filed their written plea of innocence. It changed on August 29.

About a month before the third anniversary of the murder, Christie Parisien and Jaslyn Smith, now both adults, appeared before Broward County Circuit Judge Ernest Kollra. Smith. 19 years ago, and Parisien, 20 years ago, pleaded guilty. Kollra sentenced both to 25 years in prison, each followed by 10 years of probation.

Kollra also presided over the case of their co-defendant Andre Clements for capital murder on the same three charges. Clements also pleaded not guilty but did not change his plea. Records show he had trouble with his defense.

Clements filed a 16-page handwritten motion asking Kollra to dismiss the conspiracy to commit murder charge, arguing there are “fundamental flaws” in the indictment so the charge “may not legally proceed.” . Records show the motion was dated and signed by Clements on May 15 and filed on July 24.

Attorneys Kaitlin Gonzalez and Joseph Kimok filed a motion for a continuance on July 19, saying they will be ready for trial by January. Defense attorneys appointed to defend Clements in June reported that Clements was “pro se,” representing himself in court with attorneys “only acting as backup counsel,” so not much was done.

Gonzalez and Kimok listed some of the pending defense work — including the deposition of “a civilian eyewitness to the crime.”

Kollra set Clements’ trial to begin on Jan. 13. As of Saturday evening, Broward Sheriff’s Office inmate records showed Clements was at the main jail, Parisien was at the Paul Rein Detention Center and Smith was awaiting transfer to the North Broward office. custody of the Florida Department of Corrections.

Local 10 news assignment planning editor Frine Gomez contributed to this report.