Roxbury teen gets five years for trying to kill Pop Warner coach
Daquadry Norman, 15 at the time he took repeated shots at a Pop Warner football coach in Washington Park in Roxbury, pleaded guilty today to armed assault with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and unlawful possession of a firearm, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office announced.
Judge Paul Lewis sentenced Norman, now 17, to the five-year prison term recommended by prosecutors.
The DA's office said Norman decided to go after the coach because of a minor traffic incident involving Norman's pit bull:
Shortly before 12:30, the victim's vehicle clipped the defendant's pit bull as it walked unleashed on Dale Street. The dog was uninjured, but when the victim exited his vehicle to check on its condition, Norman threatened him. The victim tried to calm Norman down, but the youth insisted that "we're gonna have to handle this." He kicked the vehicle’s door.
The victim returned to his vehicle and made his way to practice. A short time later, Norman and a group of his associates arrived at the scene. The victim, sensing a confrontation, called a friend who was also a Boston Police officer and informed him what was happening.
"You think you can just hit my dog and get away with it?" the defendant said.
Believing that one or more of the youths might be carrying a gun, the victim had the presence of mind to position himself away from the practicing children so that any "errant rounds" wouldn't strike them.
It was at this time that Norman drew the 9mm semiautomatic handgun and fired three times at the victim. One of those rounds struck him in the upper right thigh. He fell to the ground and the defendant fled with his associates.
Comments
So in five years when he
So in five years when he does successfully kill someone, the judge is going to be really happy with that joke of a sentence.
Beat me to it
Who the fuck would recommend a five-year sentence? Guy should be fired for that.
Maximum for Minors?
Was that the recommended sentence because that was the maximum for minors?
The sentence was recommended
The sentence was recommended in light of the circumstances of the offense, the age and record of the defendant at the time he committed it, his willingness to plead guilty, and the nature of the victim's injuries.
State prison time for youthful offenders, while allowable under the law and routinely recommended by prosecutors, is actually very hard to obtain -- probably for the same reason that juveniles aren't allowed to drink, vote, or get tattoos.
I say this not to defend the sentence -- it needs no defense -- but to explain the juvenile law landscape, which is (obviously) different from the one for adults.