Davonte Barnes sentenced to life in prison for his role in 2021 mass shooting at Miami-Dade's El Mula Banquet Hall
MIAMI -- One month after being found guilty by a Miami-Dade jury in connection with a mass shooting outside the El Mula Banquet Hall, Davonte Barnes was ordered to serve life in prison for his role in what the prosecution said was the "largest mass shooting in Miami-Dade County history."
Barnes, who had apologized to the families of the victims before his sentencing, displayed no emotion as Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez announced her verdict. She had rejected an appeal by the defense to deviate from sentencing guidelines and impose a less harsh sentence.
"The actions and carnage was as if Mr. Barnes had pulled the trigger himself," she said before announcing the three life sentences that to be served consecutively.
Before the judge handed down her sentence, Barnes turned to the family of the victims and addressed them.
"I extend my apologies to the family," he said. "I'm truly sorry for what happened to those" victims.
Memorial Day weekend mass shooting
Barnes, 24, was convicted by a jury on Sept. 30 of second-degree murder in the killings of Desmond Owens and Clayton Dillard III, both 26, and Shaniqua Peterson, 32. Jurors also convicted Barnes of attempted second-degree murder on several other counts related to the incident.
He was found not guilty of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder with a deadly weapon, however
The state waived the death penalty for Barnes so the ultimate sentence was a life sentence.
During his two-week trial in September, prosecutors had accused Barnes of being the lookout during the 2021 shooting
During the two-week trial, jurors saw police interrogating Barnes about the incident, which prosecutors said resulted from an ongoing feud between two rival gangs over who would be king of Opa-locka.
Owens, Dillard and Peterson were killed while nearly two dozen others were hurt during the shooting on May 30. The shooting occurred as a crowd had gathered to attend a rap show.
Relatives of the slain victims address Davonte Barnes
During the sentencing, relatives of Owens, Dillard and Peterson faced Barnes.
"My two sons struggle every day (now) that their baby sister is gone," said Charlene Peterson, the mother of Shaniqua Peterson. "For what? For people to have power over territory?"
Tammy Anderson, Dillard's mother, said: "You took my son away from me. You weren't the shooter but you need to pay for what you did!"
The defense attorney asked the judge to consider a sentence that was less than a life sentence, citing a state law that allows the court to impose varying sentences.
"Give him a second chance at life," the defense lawyer said. "It's not going to serve anyone to have him in prison for the rest of his life."
But the judge rejected that request, which the prosecution also rebuffed.
"This was the largest mass shooting in Miami-Dade County history period," the prosecutor said. "I disagree with finding of principle that allows for" downgrade of the sentence.