‘Her heart was rare': 2 get life in prison for shooting death of 10-year-old girl at July 4 party in Cleveland
Gracie Griffin was shot and killed during a family cookout last summer. On Monday, her loved ones came face-to-face with the men responsible: brothers Juwone Deaver and Jemerious Davis.
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Juwone D. Deaver, 29, and Jemerious S. Davis, 24, both of Cleveland, were each sentenced Monday to 25 years to life for her murder.
The shooting happened during a Fourth of July party at a home near the intersection of West 125th Street and Triskett Road, FOX 8 News previously reported.
Griffin, 10, was at the party and was standing outside the home with Deaver, Davis and another suspect when a vehicle carrying four people pulled in front of the home, prosecutors said.
'Deaver and Davis then opened fire, shooting multiple times with a .45 caliber firearm and an AK-style firearm at the vehicle,' reads a previous news release from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.
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Griffin was struck in the head and pronounced dead at a hospital.
Deaver and Davis claimed they had felt threatened, but investigators determined no shots were fired from the vehicle, only toward it.
'She was taken, not by a stranger, but from someone she trusted; someone she was supposed to feel safe around,' Griffin's grandmother, Touch Choup, told the court on Monday. 'But I hope today justice speaks to the truth. That her life mattered. That her heart was rare. And that justice, whatever it looks like, speaks loud enough for her, since she can't speak for herself.'
The courtroom inside the Justice Center was filled with emotion. Tears on both sides, and raw grief from a family still mourning a child taken too soon.
Deaver's and Davis' mother, who also spoke at the Monday hearing, claimed the men were trying to protect Griffin and called her death a tragedy. Despite their convictions, the brothers' mother insisted in court they were acting to protect their family.
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'They didn't do it,' she said. 'They were protecting her; just as they were protecting us. And there's no telling what would have happened if they didn't protect us.'
But for Gracie's family, that claim only deepened the pain.
'She was taken, not by a stranger,' said Gracie's grandmother. 'But from someone she trusted. Someone she was supposed to feel safe around.'
'Gracie Griffin's death was heartbreaking and completely avoidable,' Prosecutor Michael O'Malley is quoted in a Monday news release. 'While today cannot heal that loss, these sentences of 25 years to life send a clear message that senseless gun violence will not be tolerated.'
While some members of the defendants' family expressed disappointment with the verdict, Gracie's loved ones said this wasn't about revenge; it was about making sure her voice was heard.
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'I hope today, justice speaks to the truth,' a family member said. 'That her life mattered. That her heart was rare. And that justice, whatever it looks like, speaks loud enough for her, since she can't speak for herself.'
In total, four people have been held accountable in connection with Gracie's death.
Two other suspects also pleaded guilty to lying to police about the incident and have been sentenced, prosecutors said.
The third suspect, Ed'Jawon Q. Williams, 24, of Cleveland, pleaded guilty in April to a felony count of obstructing justice and was sentenced to one year in prison, court records show. He was credited for about nine months served in jail while awaiting trial.
Williams was also sentenced to four years in prison on felonious assault and intimidation charges from a separate case, state prison records show.
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A fourth suspect, Katie McKnight, pleaded guilty in June to a misdemeanor count of obstructing justice and was sentenced to seven days in jail, which was credited for time served, court records show.
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