Daytona Beach man sentenced to life in prison for 2019 murder of 19-year-old
A Daytona Beach man was a week shy of his 18th birthday when police said he killed a 19-year-old man in the city.
Those seven days made a big difference for Kevin Simons-Stokes, who was convicted in October of first-degree premeditated murder in the 2019 killing of Daemon Carn.
Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano on Monday sentenced Simons-Stokes to life in prison. But since Simons-Stokes was a minor when he committed the crime, he could not be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Simons-Stokes' life sentence will be reviewed after 25 years, at which time he could be released.
The jury in reaching its verdict also found that Simons-Stokes possessed a firearm, discharged the firearm and personally used a firearm, according to the verdict form.
The jury also found Simons-Stokes guilty of possession of a firearm by a delinquent. He was sentenced to the maximum 15 years in prison on that charge, which he will serve concurrently, according to a press release from 7th Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza's office.
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Assistant State Attorney Heatha Trigones prosecuted the case. Simons-Stokes was represented by Gary Rosenberg, an attorney based in Broward County. Rosenberg filed a motion asking for a new trial, which Zambrano denied.
Simons-Stokes, who "steadfastly maintains his innocence" in the killing according to the sentencing order, was born July 16, 2001.
Multiple witnesses saw Simons-Stokes in a vehicular chase
On July 9, 2019, multiple witnesses spotted Simons-Stokes driving a gray BMW, which was chasing a Toyota, according to a press release from the State Attorney's Office. The chase occurred in the area of Weaver Street and Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard, according to police.
When the chase ended with the Toyota crashing, "Simons-Stokes opened his window, and along with the help of another shooter, fired at least 28 shots at" Carn, the release stated. One of the bullets hit Carn in the lower back; he was later pronounced dead at Halifax Health Medical Canter, the release stated.
Simons-Stokes' accomplice stood up and out of the BMW's sunroof and also fired, Judge Zambrano noted in his sentencing order.
"They unleashed a hail of rounds with their firearms in the direction of the victim," Zambrano wrote.
The accomplice has not been identified or charged.
The killing was among a number of shootings over a two-day period in the city involving two different groups, police stated at the time.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach man sentenced to life in prison in murder of 19-year-old
