MAPLEWOOD, Mo. — A St. Louis mother rehashed the unfathomable and sudden loss of her only two sons who became the victims of gun violence two years ago.
On Wednesday morning, Samica Sandelbach, the mother of Jakobe Bass, sat in federal court to hear the fate of one of the three people who killed her youngest son. Bass, 19, was just a few months away from going to South Dakota for college when he was shot over 30 times in Maplewood on Feb. 8, 2022.
Just six months earlier, Sandelbach's oldest child was also killed in Minnesota at just 20 years of age. This week's sentencing did little to salve her emotional wounds.
"He got twenty years," Sandlebach said about Aeshon Loggins, the man charged with murdering Bass. "I wish it could have been more. ... I do think that the judge took a little leniency on him just because of his age and they gave a little more empathy than I feel they deserve because he had no empathy for my son."
The other man received four years for the part he played in the murder. The third person was a juvenile at the time of the murder and Sandelbach said he may not ever get charged.
Although time has passed, the sentencing is like picking at an open wound for Bass' mother. She remains strong despite an unfavorable outcome and evidence that she believes makes her son's murder premeditated.
"He met with my son before he came and killed him," she said. "They chased my son around and hunted him down. They had an opportunity to rob him and leave. They had an opportunity to not kill him but instead they chased him to kill him and the other person shot him more. Then they drove over his body after the fact."
There is gratitude for the Maplewood Police Department and the federal prosecutors, but there is a simultaneous desire from Sandelbach for more justice.
Bass was full of love and he was a hugger, his mother said.
"He lit up a room," she said.
"I am very appreciative that there is some kind of justice served but nothing is ever going to get my son back," she said. "I do not have anymore kids. I will never have grandkids."
This mother is still trying to coming to terms with the scars gun violence have left on her.
In Sandelbach's eyes, an 18-year-old should not be able to carry an AR-15 rifle, which she said was used in her son's murder.
"I don't know when these kids are going to realize no one's going to be there for their parents when they're dead or in jail," Sandelbach said. "No one is going to be there for them when they are in jail and they need money to eat in jail. It's going to be a T-shirt and a balloon release and it's going to be over."
She would like to see change and youth holding their peers accountable.
Sandelbach plans to use her grief to impact the next generation by partnering with groups like Moms Demand Action and bring back the value of human life.
If you would like to donate to Sandelbach for her sons headstones click here.
