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Last defendant gets 20 years in jail, with all time suspended. Date published: 12/8/2009
By PORTSIA SMITH
The last of nine co-defendants charged with murder by mob following the 2007 death of a teenager at a Sweet 16 party in Caroline County pleaded guilty today to a reduced charge. Deon Kirk Jeter, 18, was convicted of felony malicious wounding and was sentenced to 20 years in jail, with all of that time suspended, in a plea agreement. Jeter was part of a group of nine who rode together in a van to the parking lot of the Madison Ruritan Club in November 2007 as the party was ending. Evidence showed that most of them went there to fight a rival group, Commonwealth's Attorney Tony Spencer said. The fight eventually ended in the death of 16-year-old Raquel Hunter, who was shot in the head as he left his classmate's party. All nine of the men in the van were fighting outside the party shortly before the group's ringleader, Lashawn Monroe, now 24, pulled a gun and killed Hunter, Spencer said. Jeter told The Free Lance-Star after his court appearance that the night of the shooting went all wrong. “I regret what happened to the dude that got killed and that my brother got locked up,” Jeter said. “[Monroe] is my first cousin, but he was like my brother.” Under a plea agreement, Monroe will serve 50 years in prison for the shooting deaths of Hunter on Nov. 10, 2007, and another man, Miguel Dominguez Vasquez on May 7, 2007. Jujuan Lewis, 18, who slashed Hunter's face with a box-cutter knife, was sentenced to 40 years in prison with 25 years suspended. Deon Terrell, 21, a co-defendant in both the Hunter and Vasquez cases, accepted a plea agreement in which he is expected to serve a 10-year sentence. Four other co-defendants - Shawn McQuill Terrell, 19; Devar Tawain Brown, 17; Antoine Johnson, 20; and Lorenza Foxx, each also pleaded guilty to felony malicious wounding by mob and were sentenced to 20 years in prison with all time suspended. Dwight Leo Smith II, 20, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault by mob and was sentenced to 12 months in jail, with all of that time suspended. While the main players in the murder are serving time in jail, Spencer said, it was important that the smaller players accept some responsibility. “We feel that it is appropriate that they be convicted felons, unable to carry firearms, but that they be given a chance to show that they can henceforth be of good behavior,” Spencer said. “Essentially, we have told them, 'Go forth and sin no more.' “
This is what the bleeding heart liberals love. Compassion as they call it, at least for the criminal who needs it least. We can all predict with near certainty most if not all of these THUGS will offend again. Too bad for their future victims, too bad for our community...Gov. Hucklebee would be proud!
Thank you! I couldn't agree more. No hard labor for unpaid parking tickets or anything but certainly for violent/major offenses. Enough with the pampering of criminals. Put them to work!
The unfortunate thing is that even when criminals are sent to prison, the time isn't hard enough and therefore doesn't act as much of a deterrent. They sit around all day and watch tv, play cards, sleep, get high, etc. We need to get back to hard labor, where prisoners spend 12 hours a day, 6 days a week crushing rocks or working on a chain gang...not for minor stuff, but certainly for violent/serious offenses such as this. Treat crime as any other good...increase the price, reduce the demand.
Just wow! Suspended sentences...gotta love 'em...I'm sure the criminals do.
Just like the cop killer in Oregon. "Go forth and sin no more." Who are these people kidding? It is time to begin locking up these animals and put them where they belong.
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