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Two young lives were lost on the evening of July 4 as fireworks lit up the sky above Fort Dodge, according to the mother of a homicide victim.
"When you stare at the man in the mirror every day, you have to see yourself knowing the wrongs that you did," Lavita Pettigrew, the mother of Jameel Redding-Pettigrew, said to her son's killer at a sentencing hearing on Monday. "You may feel justified in your actions, but remember, you cost yourself your own life, not just Jameel's."
Jamarrion "JJ" Davis, 18, was convicted earlier this month for the first-degree murder of 15-year-old Redding-Pettigrew. On Monday, Davis was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Pettigrew gave the only victim impact statement at the sentencing hearing.
"Our baby boy Jameel is already free and ready to enjoy the goodness and glory of heaven," she said. "One day, you'll know our pain, and I hope it changes you for the better -- but it only starts with you."
In his 15 short years, Redding-Pettigrew changed many lives "with his love and light, never to be forgotten," Pettigrew said.
"With this one life that we get, you have to make change and get it right while you have the time, because when you close your eyes, you close your mind," she said to Davis. "Please make a change and demand change within yourself."
The case was prosecuted by the Webster County Attorney's Office with First Assistant County Attorney Brad McIntyre and Assistant County Attorney Bailey Taylor.
"The legal system worked to bring justice to Jameel Redding-Pettigrew and his family," McIntyre said. 'This case came together through the work of law enforcement and members of our community. Without their work, this outcome would not have been possible."
Davis was arrested in July, two days after Redding-Pettigrew was gunned down near the intersection of South 15th Street and Fourth Avenue South around 9:44 p.m. on July 4. Upon motion from the defense, Davis' trial was moved to Story County.
During trial, witnesses testified to seeing Davis carrying a Mini Draco firearm throughout the day on July 4, and that he had been at a holiday barbecue party at 216 S. 14th St.
Witnesses testified that in the evening, Redding-Pettigrew was walking past the house when his cousin, Car'Mari Mosley, a guest at the party, beckoned him over. The teen was offered some food, but declined because he was walking home and was just a few blocks away.
After Redding-Pettigrew left, witnesses testified, Davis heard Mosley tell one of the party's hosts that Redding-Pettigrew was "DJ's little brother." Davis then took off down an alley in the same direction that the teen was headed.
The jury was shown home security video that shows Redding-Pettigrew being shot several times in the intersection of Fourth Avenue South and South 15th Street.
The motive for the shooting, McIntyre told the jury during opening arguments, was that Redding-Pettigrew's older brother, 17-year-old Davonquae Pettigrew, is accused of shooting and killing Patrick Walker, a close friend of Davis. Walker was gunned down in downtown Fort Dodge in the 100 block of North 10th Street on May 2. Pettigrew has been charged with first-degree murder for that shooting and is awaiting trial.
Defense witness Margie Berg testified that she was walking near the intersection of Fourth Avenue South and South 15th Street when the shooting occurred. She testified that she was extremely close to the corner and got "a good look" at the shooter, and that it was not Davis.
However, the security video from the neighbor showed that Berg was at least one house down from the corner.
Prior to the sentencing, Charles Kenville, of the Mason City Public Defender's Office, filed a motion for a new trial, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Davis was responsible for the shooting. In the motion, Kenville seems to imply that witness Skuyler Ellington could have been the shooter because he had access to the gun that was used in the shooting, and he was present when the weapon was recovered by the police.
In a resistance filing, McIntyre argued that the state presented "overwhelming evidence" to support a guilty verdict in the case.
On Monday, just prior to the sentencing, District Court Judge Kurt Stoebe, agreed with the state.
"I believe that the evidence established that you did this in a very intentional manner, and when people do that, when people cross the line and they take another life in a very calculated manner and are able to live with that, that's a very difficult thing for me to understand," Stoebe said a little while later during the sentencing.
In addition to the prison sentence, Davis will be required to pay $150,000 to Redding-Pettigrew's heirs-at-law.