A second suspect in the 2017 murder of Xavier Hakeem Thomas will face trial beginning Wendesday at the Pike County Courthouse.

Demarcus Flowers will be tried on a charge of murder in the case following the murder conviction of Jacory Townsend in November 2018.

The jury found that Townsend was guilty of pulling the trigger in the shooting death of Thomas that night of May 26, 2017, at Walding Circle in Brundidge. Townsend was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the murder.

“You can’t bring back the loss of a child, but (Thomas’ mother) was well-satisfied with the result,” said District Attorney Tom Anderson at the time of Townsend’s conviction.

Thomas was shot multiple times while sitting in his vehicle in a parking lot and was transported to Troy Regional Medical Center by private vehicle, where he was pronounced dead.

During the trial, prosecutors said Flowers drove Townsend to and from the scene of the crime.

Flowers is charged with first-degree murder, a Class A Felony punishable by 20 years to life in prison upon conviction.