DC Superior Court Judge Jason Park sentenced two homicide co-defendants to nine years each in prison on April 24.
Jerome Dukes, 35, and Justin Borum, 36, pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 to voluntary manslaughter while armed for their involvement in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old Jayvon Jones at the 1400 block of Saratoga Avenue, SE on Feb. 21, 2023. Two additional individuals sustained injuries.
At the hearing, prosecutors said this case was complicated, as there were other individuals besides the defendants who were firing at Jones.
Jones’ mother was present at court, but the prosecutor spoke on her behalf. Jones’ mother said she misses her son everyday but has forgiven the defendants for their actions. She asked Judge Park to accept a sentencing agreement reached by the prosecution and defense, which set a maximum of nine years of imprisonment for each defendant.
Borum’s attorney, Stephen LoGerfo, requested that Judge Park accept this agreement as well. He said that his client has strong family support and has children. LoGerfo also asked the court to make a prior gun-related charge run concurrently to this sentence.
Borum spoke directly in court and apologized to Jones’ mother.
Dukes’ attorney, Brandi Harden, also requested that Judge Park accept the agreement. She said her client expresses his remorse and wanted the opportunity to get back to his family.
Dukes apologized to Jones’ mother and acknowledged that his apology “is not going to bring him [Jones] back.”
Judge Park accepted the agreement based on the facts of the case, guilty pleas, and remorse shown by the defendants. Dukes and Borum were sentenced to nine years of imprisonment and five years of supervised release.
Judge Park denied LoGerfo’s request to run a separate charge concurrently with this sentence because it happened at a different time and place and was unrelated to the current case.
Harden objected to Judge Park’s recommendation of drug treatment upon release. She argued that there was no evidence that Dukes struggled with drugs.
“Prison is too hard,” Harden said. “Please don’t put him under these conditions that will make him fail.”
The prosecutor did not object.
Harden also took issue with Dukes paying a $100 fine to the victim’s family in three years. He will have to pay from his prison wages, which is a small amount.
Judge Park removed Dukes’ drug recommendation from the supervised release guidelines, since he has tested negative for drugs in the past. He did not, however, remove the fine because it is a statutory requirement under the Victims of Violent Crime Compensation Act (VVCA).
No further dates were set.
