Photo: Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit
Five men have been sentenced to life in prison in connection with the fatal shooting of a four-year-old girl in Tampa, Florida.
On Wednesday (October 29), Zvante Sampson, Quandarious Hammond, Jaylin Bedward, Andrew Thompson, and James Denson were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after being found guilty in September of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and shooting at or within a vehicle, per PEOPLE.
The shooting of four-year-old Suni Bell unfolded on Sept. 17, 2021, as she was sitting in the backseat of her family’s silver Infiniti alongside her mother and uncle on Hillsborough Avenue.
“They were on their way to a family gathering and couldn’t find the address, so they pulled over to call family,” Erin Maloney, communications director for the Office of the State Attorney, 13th Judicial Circuit, said in a statement. “The theory was the men mistook Suni’s family for someone who drove a similar car. You can see the men conspiring with each other on surveillance video before arming themselves and hunting down the vehicle to commit the shooting.”
Prosecutors said surveillance footage from a nearby gas station showed the five men watching the Infiniti before pursuing it in separate vehicles and firing dozens of rounds. Suni was struck and later died at a local hospital. Her mother and uncle were not injured.
“Suni’s mother testified on the stand that she just kept saying, ‘Mommy,’ as gunshots rang out,” Maloney said.
During sentencing, Judge Robin Fuson told the defendants, “This is what happens when you make stupid choices without thinking through things. Acting and reacting without figuring out what's gonna be on the other side. Well, the other side for you five is the rest of your lives in prison with no chance of parole.”
Prosecutors emphasized that all five men were held accountable under Florida’s principal theory of prosecution.
“Our prosecutors proved that each of the defendants played an active role in planning and carrying out this deadly ambush,” the State Attorney’s Office said in a statement. “As a result, all five men will be held equally accountable for Suni’s death.”
At sentencing, Suni’s grandmother, Drial Harrison, expressed her family’s grief.
“This hurts. This hurts deep. It’s not something you can put a Band-Aid on and heal from,” she said.
“Suni’s family said she had just started Pre-K and was so excited about getting her first backpack and starting school,” Maloney added. “Weeks later, she was gone.”
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.