ST. LOUIS — The family of two shooting victims was outraged in a St. Louis courtroom Thursday when a second St. Louis man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after admitting to the deadly shooting.
Andre L. Anderson, 28, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree involuntary manslaughter in connection with the deadly shooting of 7-year-old Dmyah Fleming and her father Darrion Rankin-Fleming. Anderson's codefendant, 30-year-old Javonn Nettles, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in October after he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder.
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Relatives of the victims were present in court Thursday and held photographs of Dmyah and Rankin-Fleming lying in their caskets during a funeral that was held on Feb. 8, 2021.
"Today, February 8th of 2021 is when I buried my son and granddaughter. Today was the actual day of their funeral," Suketha Rankin said.
It's also the day she appeared in court to hear the latest in the case.
"It is painful," Dmyah's mother Janice Johns said, pointing to the fact neither person responsible is going to trial.
Back in October, Javon Nettles plead guilty to second degree murder, instead of 1st degree murder.
"They didn't tell us anything....I would've told them to take it to trial.," Johns said.
"You get our hopes up like 'oh, two life sentences without parole, 60 years, 30 years for each gun'... All through these three years, it's been 'A speedy trial. We want a trial. We want a trial'. Now it's time for a trial, you don't want one," Rankin added.
On Jan. 24, 2021, in the 400 block of Laclede Avenue, Nettles and an accomplice, Andre Anderson, shot and killed 26-year-old Rankin-Fleming and his 7-year-old daughter Dmyah while they were sitting in a parked car, according to police. Both of the victims were shot multiple times.
Nettles and Anderson were each charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed criminal action in the shooting, but agreed to lesser charges in exchange for plea deals. The sentence for a first-degree murder conviction in Missouri is life in prison without the possibility of parole.
After Nettles' plea in October, we heard from Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore.
"We don't believe that the outcome of a ten year sentence is perfect, but it's certainly not perfect justice. Yet it was, in this case, the best outcome we felt we could obtain," Gore said.
In charging documents, police said cellphone records showed Anderson in the area at the time of the shooting. Police also said Nettles had called Rankin-Fleming shortly before the shooting and Nettles' fingerprints were found on Rankin-Fleming’s car.
Ballistic evidence indicated the deadly shots were fired from two different guns, according to charging documents.
"Today, it was like we were up getting ready for the funeral all over again, like I was burying my son and granddaughter again for a third time," Rankin said.
Dmyah's mother is trying to be strong for her 6-year-old daughter Nova, who remembers losing her sister.
"Her body locks up and she shakes and she screams. She wants her sissy.... Se says she's scared to go to heaven because people who die go to heaven. She don't want to die," Johns said.