A Grandview teenager will serve life in prison for killing an Olathe North High athlete and injuring a 13-year-old girl at a Mission apartment complex in 2022.
On Thursday, Deon Austin, 19, was sentenced in Johnson County Court for first-degree murder and aggravated assault for shooting and killing a 16-year-old boy and injuring a 13-year-old girl at the SilverWood Apartments on Foxridge Drive in Mission on April 10, 2022.
Remaining stoic while Judge Thomas Sutherland outlined his punishment, Austin was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years, also known as a “Hard 50,” for first-degree murder, as well as 43 months for aggravated assault. The counts will run consecutively.
The sentencing comes after a five-day jury trial in July and August that returned a guilty verdict.
The shooting occurred in a parking lot
At about 8:50 p.m. on April 10, 2022, Mission police responded to a report of shots fired at the apartment complex. When they arrived, arriving officers found two teenage victims in the apartment complex’s parking lot, said Chief Dan Madden.
Jammaal Blacknoll Jr., also known as Jamal Pratt, 16, was pronounced dead at the scene. A 13-year-old female was shot in the leg and transported by ambulance to an area hospital, where she survived.
Blacknoll was in the parking lot attempting to purchase a gun when he was shot by Austin, according to court records. The 13-year-old girl was there to observe the purchase, court records stated. Both shootings were “done for no apparent reason whatsoever,” Megan Williams, Johnson County assistant district attorney, stated in court documents.
“These crimes were unprovoked, cold-blooded, and premeditated,” Williams stated in court documents.
Austin, who was 17 at the time, was later charged as an adult.
Victim’s family mourns son
During the victim impact statements of Austin’s sentencing, family members of Blacknoll outlined to Sutherland the life that was taken away.
Also known as “Tank,” Blacknoll was an “outstanding” football player and student at Olathe North High, said Caroline Doyle, the boy’s mother.
“Jammaal was an exceptional boy. He won’t get the opportunity to be a man,” she said. “He was supposed to play football at Auburn … He had a 4.0. I will never understand why any of this took place.”
In addition to mourning her son, Doyle also expressed sympathy for Austin’s family, who sat behind him as he was sentenced.
“My heart is heavy for his mother, as well today. She will also lose a son,” she said. “So it just sounds to me all we can take from this is violence is never an answer to anything, and I will never understand where that was ever a decision, that you stole my baby from me.”
Family asked for maximum sentence
Throughout the trial, Austin showed no remorse for the murder, Williams said.
“The court heard evidence of Austin talking on the phone to his parents, referring to Jammaal as, quote, ‘That little victim,’ referring to (the 13-year-old victim) as, quote, ‘That little bitch,'” she said.
In a statement read by Williams in court from Jammall Blacknoll Sr., the victim’s father, he asked for the maximum punishment.
“(Austin) smirked and smiled in the courtroom while we sat in pain,” he stated. “It’s because of this I pray this court will impose a maximum sentence.”
Judge responds to comments
In his sentencing, Sutherland acknowledged Doyle’s comments.
“I very much appreciate the comments of the mother today, acknowledging that two lives, one literally and one figuratively, were lost as a result of this event,” he said. “I don’t know that I can add anything other than to say that I cannot and I do not find that there are substantial, compelling reasons to depart from the presumed sentence.”
After Sutherland’s sentence, family and friends on Blacknoll’s side of the courtroom tearfully left the courtroom, while Austin’s family stayed to say goodbye to Austin.
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