Thief Who Murdered a 15-year-old Sentenced to 65 Years in Prison

 

An Oxon Hill man was sentenced to 65 years Monday in the death of a 15-year-old boy who was targeted over a Valentine's Day gift intended for his girlfriend, prosecutors say.

 

Tayvon Williams received the maximum sentence in the murder of Suitland High School freshman Charles Michael Walker Jr., who was gunned down in February 2013. The boy was shot dead while coming back after shopping for a pair of boots for his girlfriend for Valentine's Day. Williams and another man got out of their van and grabbed Walker, and when Walker saw them, he tried to run away. He was shot in the back and died.

 

Williams pleaded guilty earlier this year to second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault and related charges. In court Monday, Williams apologized to the victim's mother, telling her that he is not what everybody says he is, and that he is not a bad person.

 

Walker's mother, Natasha Massey, wiped away tears, saying the loss of her son has affected everyone, saying the loss still feels as though it just happened. She has to explain to her other sons why they shouldn't be bad, like those who killed their brother, Massey said.

 

The prosecutor said Williams shot and wounded someone else later that day and was also responsible for another shooting six months earlier, also non-fatal. He was also on probation from an assault charge in D.C. at the time of the shooting.

 

Four other men were also arrested and pleaded guilty in the case: Derryck Green of Alexandria; Jermani Whitner of Temple Hills; Glenn Leach of Southeast D.C. and Kevin Smith of Temple Hills. They were sentenced in August.