RICHMOND, Va. — A man charged in the murders of a mother and her infant daughter agreed in court Thursday morning to a plea that sentences him to serve four years in prison.
Sharnez Hill, 30, and her newborn baby, Neziah, died and three others were injured in a shooting at the Belt Atlantic apartments in April 2021.
Donald Hemmings is the third of five men arrested in the case to enter a plea deal in Richmond Circuit Court. Per the agreement, Hemmings is guilty of voluntary manslaughter and conspiring to commit first degree murder. Of a 20 year sentence for the charges, 16 were suspended. The Commonwealth Attorney's office declined to prosecute eight other charges against Hemmings.
In court, prosecutors stated Hemmings remained in a vehicle during the time of the shootings, which they believe were intended to target someone other than Hill and her baby.
"My family feels helpless. They are sad. They are devastated," said Pastor Donte McCutcheon, a cousin of Hill's, when reached by phone on Thursday.
According to court documents and Richmond Police, the gunmen all went to the apartment complex on Midlothian Turnpike around 6:30 that night to confront someone who lived there that they had an ongoing disagreement.
Court documents stated the gunmen, wearing ski masks, saw their target in the courtyard of the complex — along with bystanders like Hill and her baby — and "immediately began firing their guns indiscriminately into the crowd."
"While my preference would be to have no black men in jail, I also want my cousins to be here, " said McCutcheon. He tells CBS 6 News the victims' family is very dissatisfied with the plea agreement.
In 2022, one of the other men charged, Kevon Bynum, pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding, and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a murder for both the shooting at Belt Atlantic and a separate, unrelated murder.
He was sentenced to 52 years in prison.
Just last month, Kevon's twin brother, Kavon Bynum, pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder for Hill and her daughter and three counts of malicious wounding for the three others who were injured at Belt Atlantic.
Kavon was sentenced to a total of 140 years in prison, with all but 38 years suspended. The remaining 102 years will hang over his head upon release, including, according to the Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Office, 45 years for the rest of his life.
As for the other two men arrested in this case, court records show a conspiracy charge against Shamondrick Perry was dropped soon after the murders and Shyheem Martin appears set to accept a plea deal at the end of this month.
A 29-year-old woman, a 15-year-old girl, and an 11-year-old girl were all injured in the shooting but survived.
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