One of the defendants accused of murder and armed robbery for a four-year-old jewelry store heist heard his fate at a sentencing hearing held Thursday on St. Thomas. Jahmar Damien Lewis also heard from victims of the shooting that took place at Glitters Jewelry Store at Havensight Mall on Dec. 4, 2021.
Superior Court Judge Carol Thomas-Jacobs gave Lewis 17 years in prison after he admitted guilt to first-degree robbery. He was also ordered to pay $75 in court fees, but was not ordered to serve parole after leaving prison.
Jacobs told the defendant his actions and those of his co-defendants — Akenda Weeks, Michiah Cozier and Junior Garcia — caused irreversible harm to the victims at the jewelry store, their friends and loved ones; harm and suffering made evident by the reading of victim impact statements at Thursday’s hearing.
“I hope the defendants realize the effect their misconduct has had,” the judge said. ”I want you to understand the depth of the loss your conduct has caused, because for these families it is a life sentence.”
Among those expressing their loss were the widow of Glitters’s customer, Gregorianna Julien, 56, and retired Police Officer Adrien Huggins, who was shot and wounded while on duty as a store security guard. Julien, a former school cook, suffered serious injuries and died weeks later while undergoing treatment at Schneider Regional Medical Center.
“How could anyone be so heartless to my lovely wife, Georgie?” said Johan Julien. “Our daughter Joniah was right there when you killed her. She was literally there and heard the bullets that killed her mother. But I am not angry with you, I’m not angry because I’m trusting God.”
“I will continue to trust God and hold you accountable,” the widower said.
Huggins, a 20-year veteran of local law enforcement, said his wounds led to the surgical removal of his spleen and months of hospitalization. He said he felt especially hurt knowing that after years of working with youth diversion programs, he was shot and disabled by a gang of young robbers.
“So, to know it was a youth that committed this horrific crime against me is mentally devastating,” Huggins said.
Lewis was 17 at the time of the incident. He sat attentively at the defendant’s table, listening to all that was said.
Legislative aide Jacqueline Freeman also spoke at Lewis’s sentencing; she and Huggins worked together in the days when he served on the Housing Authority Police Department. Together, they developed a youth-oriented program called Bovoni Weed and Seed, where Huggins led young residents through a PADI-certified scuba diving program.
“Despite these efforts we continue to lose our children to gun violence at an alarming and heartbreaking rate,” Freeman said. She also expressed her personal distress at seeing her former coworker withdraw to an inner world of worry and despair.
“The destruction of a pillar in this community — Adrien Huggins — is unjustified,” she said.
When the statements were done, Defense Attorney David Cattie rose and apologized to the victims and the court for what his client had done.
At the start of the hearing, Jacobs said the court intended to have all four defendants — all of whom pleaded guilty to lesser charges — stand for sentencing on the same day at the same hearing. This, she said, was intended to reduce the number of appearances the victims and their relatives would have to appear in court.
But in the end, Jacobs said, it did not work out that way.
Sentences for Weeks, Cozier and Garcia were rescheduled to a later date.
St. Croix Source
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