Gavel. Photo courtesy of Metro Creative Graphics.
Davonte Benton was sentenced to 45 years in prison for his role in the shooting of 9-year-old Brandoniya Bennett in 2019, The Dallas Morning News reports.
Benton, 22, and Tyrese Simmons, 22, were indicted on murder charges in the death of Bennett, who was shot in her Old East Dallas apartment in August 2019.
Police said at the time that Simmons, a former Woodrow Wilson High School student, was feuding with someone who lived in Bennett’s complex on Munger Avenue and fired into the wrong home.
The jury who sentenced Benton also convicted him of murder and fined him $10,000, according to the Morning News. Simmons’ case is pending.
“The murder of this child remains a senseless and unimaginable tragedy,” Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot says in a statement. “While nothing can bring Brandoniya back, I am thankful we are able to send the message that this kind of violence will not be tolerated in Dallas County.”
