Three men convicted in drive-by killing of 13-year-old girl in Union County
Three of the four men on trial in the drive-by shooting death of a 13-year-old Union County girl were found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison Thursday.
Jamari McClain, Darius Roland, and Jamerik Garmon were sentenced, without the possibility of parole, for fatally shooting Bay’Asia “Loyalti” Allah near her family’s home in Monroe on July 24, 2021.
A Union County District Attorney’s Office press release said Garmon was also sentenced to a consecutive 17 to 30 months in prison on a charge of possession of a firearm by convicted felon.
The fourth man, Jamari Crowder, was found not guilty, according to court documents. Charlotte Observer news partner WSOC reported he was “just along for the ride,” sitting in the third row of an SUV when the shooting occurred. He was released after the trial.
Another man, Javon Robinson, was charged with first-degree murder but has not yet been tried, WSOC reported. Robinson testified in this case, the outlet reported.
“This was a shocking and senseless murder,” District Attorney Trey Robison said in the press release. “This child was minding her own business when she was shot by these callous men who had no regard whatsoever of who they might hit.”
The girl was outside at a picnic table near her family’s apartment with friends when the men drove by and started shooting, the press release said. But Loyalti was not their intended target.
They had an AR-15, two semiautomatic handguns with extended magazines, ski masks and a backpack with extra ammunition at the time of the shooting, the press release said. But they traveled to Charlotte afterward to hide, and “destroyed multiple pieces of evidence.”
Tina Sykes-Mosley, founder of the group Mothers Advocating for Real Change and Unwavering Support, said she was happy with the verdict.
The nonprofit, named after her son, Marcus, who was killed in Burlington in 2020, supports families who have lost loved ones to homicide. Sykes-Mosley and volunteers from the nonprofit supported Loyalti’s mother throughout the trial.
The nonprofit also advocates for legislation to strengthen sentences and deny bail for people charged with murder. Sykes-Mosley, who previously raised concerns that courts do too much to protect defendants, credited Judge Robert Stuart Albright’s handling of the trial.
“This judge here was all for justice, was all for the truth, and I greatly appreciated him not blocking truth,” she said.
