Man sentenced to 40 years for murder of 16-year-old

Author: CAMILA PEREIRA Writer: Matias Abril
Published: Updated:
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Syncere trice
Syncere Trice (CREDIT: Fort Myers Police Department)

The death of 16-year-old De’Mari Jackson was something his family could not prepare for.

“If I knew it was the last time I’ll hear your voice, live in praise, I would videotape each action, each word,” Jackson’s aunt said in court on Monday.

And they relived it each time they stepped into court and saw the man who killed 20-year-old Syncere Trice.

“I wouldn’t be lying if I said I do not want him to get the time for the crime he committed,” Jackson’s 12-year-old cousin said at his sentencing hearing.

Trice was found guilty of second-degree murder in September for killing Jackson on Franklin Street in Southward Village in April 2022.

Witnesses said Jackson had stepped in front of his on-and-off girlfriend, Ciara Lopez, at the time of the shooting. And took a bullet for her.

Now, back in court, the judge sentenced Trice to 40 years in prison.

Without a reaction, Trice walked away as Jackson’s family continued to work to keep his memory alive.

“If tomorrow never comes. You’ll have no regrets about today. We love you brother, tomorrow and always Jackson,” Jackson’s aunt said at the witness said Monday.

Trice also was sentenced to ten years probation and was ordered to have no contact with the victim’s family.

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