RICHMOND, Va. -- Two men were arrested Sunday in connection to the Saturday night murder of 12-year-old Amiya Moses. Moses, police said, was shot at an Old Brook Road apartment complex while visiting friends. Investigators said the shooting was part of an on-going neighborhood dispute and that Amiya was an innocent victim.
Dwight Q. Jackson, 20, and Shaquille D. Maxwell, 20, both of Windomere Avenue, were charged with conspiracy to commit murder, according to Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham. The suspects' photos were not released at the time of the announcement of their arrests due to the nature of the investigation, police said.
Dwight Q. Jackson, 20 (left) and Shaquille D. Maxwell,20 (right) (There mugshots are from previous arrests of the suspects.)
"I want to thank the family members of these two individuals for working with and assisting the Marshals Fugitive Regional Task Force in convincing these individuals to turn themselves in," Chief Durham said. "We can’t do it alone. We need your help and we can’t be afraid. People are only going to do in your communities what you allow them to do."
The suspects next court date is January 26, 2016.
Faith leaders joined hands in a prayer vigil near the scene of Saturday's shooting.
‘All because somebody wanted to be a fool, they took my daughter’s life,’ Amiya’s mother said
"All because somebody wanted to be a fool, they took my daughter's life," Moses's mother Kele Wright said one day after the shooting. "This crime has to stop, it has to."
On Monday Wright met with Amiya's friends where a makeshift vigil was erected.
“I just busted out crying that’s what I did. Amiya was like my best friend. I really loved that girl and I never thought this day would come,” said Amiya’s friend Chanya Newsome. “Amiya didn’t deserve this.” added Newsome.
Amiya’s mom was on her way to pick her daughter up from a friend’s house when she received the call that will change her life.
“You’re a mom you get that feeling like something is not right and then I got the news that she didn’t make it,” said Wright. “She’s my lifeline that was my world, my only child,” added Wright.
Wright will hold onto memories of her only child who loved to dance and smile, while she fights to make the streets of Richmond safer with the community behind her.
"I want her legacy to be that violence is not the key," she said. "The community needs to stand up and stop the violence, stop everything, you see something don’t be scared to go say something. Violence leads to people burying thier loved ones when it’s not their time,” she added.
Neighbors said there had been an argument in the area that had nothing to do with Amiya and that she was never the intended target.
Wright said they had just celebrated Amiya's birthday on Dec. 3. The 12-year-old was a sixth grader at Henderson Middle School in Richmond. Her mother said she was loved by everyone and could light up a room.
"My baby was going to be in lights, she wanted to sing, she wanted to dance," Wright said.
While police continued to investigate, Wright was left with only memories of her beloved daughter, all because of a senseless act of violence.
"I would never want another parent to feel the way i feel right now. Never," she said. "This is the most worst feeling in the world knowing that your child has been killed."
A GoFundMepage has been set up to help Wright and her family with funeral expenses for Amiya.
Anyone with additional information about the Saturday night shooting was asked to call Crime Stoppers at 804-780-1000. This is a developing story.
