Mother and son co-defendants were sentenced for the murder of a woman driving a vehicle with a baby onboard and in stabbing a man in the DC Jail during a hearing on Oct. 24. The motive for the crime was retribution after a high school fistfight.
Jaquell Jackson, 22, entered an agreement and pleaded guilty to second degree murder while armed for his involvement in the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Tarshaqua Chappell on the 1300 block of Congress Street, NE, on Sept 15, 2021.
Chakeatia Jackson, 41, also entered a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon for her involvement in the fatal shooting.
Jaquell also pleaded guilty as part of the plea agreement to assault with a dangerous weapon for his alleged involvement in the repeated stabbing of a man in the DC Jail, on the 1900 block of D Street, SE, on Feb. 4.
According to the facts that the defendants acknoweldged, Jaquell knowingly shot Chappell after his mother, Chakeatia, pointed out the vehicle she was driving with the knowledge that he would harm her. This occurred after a fight among students at Anacostia High School that led to Chakeatia’s saying she would bring her son to the fight.
The prosecution welcomed 11 family members and loved ones to deliver victim impact statements to the court. All speakers explained the devastating effect Chappell’s passing is having on them and requested the maximum sentence for the defendants.
Chappell’s father passed away from prior health issues and grief as a result of his daughter’s passing. Her mother’s health continues to deteriorate as well from the grief, according to the family. Her former fiance has been unable to enter his house or car because of memories of times there.
Her family shared that Chappell was a wonderful aunt, cousin, daughter, and fiance. She always prioritized her loved ones’ health and happiness, and would drop everything to take care of her sick mother.
Chappell was the youngest sibling in her family. Her older siblings shared their impact of the baby of the family forever lost.
Chappell was born and raised in the district, attending DC Public Schools and living just blocks from where she was murdered. She went to culinary school as cooking was her passion, and became a personal chef, earning her the nickname “Chef Chic.”
The prosecution argued that Jaquell was not “simply the arm of his mother.” She explained that Jaquell was on release for a firearm possession charge, demonstrating his capacity for violent crime.
The prosecution also explained that Jaquell has not demonstrated remorse for the victim’s family. Her loved ones claimed that Jaquell verbally attacked Chappell’s family at court hearings.
The prosecution also pointed to the stabbing he committed while in the DC Jail to show his lack of remorse and rehabilitation. After writing his pre-sentence report, the interviewerer said that Jaquell “acts without regard.”
Jaquell’s lawyer, defense attorney Megan Allburn, argued that Jaquell was only 17-years-old at the time of the murder and was heavily influenced by his mother while he was a minor. She explained that Jaquell’s father was sent to federal prison when he was 13-years-old, which affected his upbringing.
Allburn claimed that Jaquell did very well in high school, completing Advance Placement (AP) courses and playing sports. He graduated from high school just months before the shooting.
Allburn also argued that Jaquell had almost no criminal record. His single possession charge was from carrying a weapon because his childhood friends had died from gun violence and possessing a gun was the only way “he knew how to protect himself.”
Allburn claimed that she was never made aware that Jaquell participated in a pre-sentence report interview. She argued that he did not know that what he said would be used in court and that this was his opportunity to express his remorse for the victim’s family and accept responsibility.
Instead, Jaquell wrote a letter to the court. Jaquell explained his regret and apologized to Chappell’s family.
“Please look at me as the man I am becoming and not the boy I was,” Jaquell said.
Allburn offered the court seven certifications Jaquell received as a result of completing various leadership and educational programs offered by the DC Jail. She argued that this demonstrated his effort towards rehabilitation.
She also argued that there is intense eviolence in the DC Jail, and that Jaquell’s stabbing case was a product of that dangerous environment.
The prosecution placed blame on Chakeatia too. She emphasized Chakeatia’s role as Jaquell’s mother and the influence she had on him.
“When teenage girls are in a fist fight, they look to adults in the room,” the prosecution said. “Instead she pointed her son to a car with four unarmed people, including a baby.”
Chakeatia’s lawyer, Kevin Irving, claimed that the fist fight at the high school involved her niece, who Chakeatia was trying to protect. Chakeatia was allegedly forced to call the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) to escort her to her car because angry parents were following her.
Irving argued that Chakeatia assumed her son would “make a threatening act”, not that he would try to kill someone.
Irving explained to the court that Chakeatia has a very limited criminal history, with only one misdemeanor from ten years ago. According to Irving, she works as a Metro janitor to care for her five children.
In her statement to the court, Chakeatia expressed her remorse to the family, and explained that she now thinks through her actions because she understands things can turn deadly quickly.
DC Superior Court Judge Michael Ryan sentenced Jaquell to the maximum sentence under the plea agreement of 15 years for the murder of Chappell. He sentenced Jaquell to the maximum sentence of five years in prison for the stabbing of the victim in the DC Jail.
The sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve 15 years total. Jackson was sentenced using the Youth Rehabilitation Act (YRA), which allows for a young defendant’s conviction to be sealed if they successfully complete all sentencing requirements.
Judge Ryan explained that the motivation behind his sentencing decision stemmed from the violence of the crime. The individual stabbed in DC Jail is a party in one of Judge Ryan’s cases and he is aware of the impact the stabbing has had on the life of the victim.
“The crimes are very serious,” Judge Ryan said. “He simply goes and shoots a person in a car, it’s inexplicable violence.”
Chakeatia was sentenced to three years in prison with one year suspended. Judge Ryan cited Chakeatia as the motivating force of the crime and shared the prosecution’s outrage that she pushed her young son to commit violence.
As Chakeatia was handcuffed by US Marshals, her young children were rushed out of the court room. Chakeatia begged for them to be brought back so she could say goodbye.
Irving requested that Chakeatia be given one week to arrange childcare and that she be allowed to hug her children. Judge Ryan denied both requests.
Chakeatia told her children she loved them as they cried watching their mother be escorted out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Parties are not slated to reconvene.
