He gave up gang violence for his daughter. Then she was killed in a shooting

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Keland Nance said he’d hoped his daughter would learn from his past with gang violence.

Growing up in Memphis, he dropped out of school as a sophomoregang prevention advocate, mourns death of teen daughter. He said he “caught the holy ghost” in a Mississippi jail and God changed the direction of his life.

Now, at 40, he mentors at-risk youth.

On Sunday, Nance’s daughter – 19-year-old Jermeisha Nance – was killed in a shooting in Memphis.

“I never thought I’d make it to 40-years-old back then,” he said. “So, to see my daughter be killed at such an early age, it’s shocking because she knows my story just like the students I deal with.”

While his children were young, Nance earned an associate's degree in social work at Southwest Tennessee Community College. He said he intentionally made those changes before his daughters were old enough to realize the things in which he was involved.

“I tried to correct my behavior before it got too late – before she got old enough to realize ‘Hey, dad is selling drugs’ or ‘Dad is a gang member,’” Nance said.

Now, he's left to raise his 3-year-old granddaughter along with other family members.

He later earned a bachelor's in social work from the University of Memphis and a master’s in education from Cambridge College.

Nance is an outreach worker at Gang Resistance For Saving Society’s Youth – known as GRASSY – a gang prevention and intervention program in Shelby County Schools. Those involved work with gang members to reduce their involvement and provide assistance when possible.

He said the GRASSY program helps him identify early signs of gang violence and attempt to remedy the situation before it escalates.

“I get a chance to pick their minds and help them with goal-setting and decision-making or violence interruption, before they even get on a path of feeling like every situation they come (in contact) with, they got to pull out their gun or they got to keep a gun nearby to fix the problem,” he said.

Keland Nance thinks shootings among youth are happening because they're chasing status, clout and popularity. He believes these factors got his daughter killed.

"I think Jermeisha got caught up in that, too," he said. "She felt more accepted with the in-crowd, even though she had family and loved ones that cared about her."

‘Wrong time, at the wrong place'

Officers responded to the shooting call at 3:39 a.m. on Nov. 10 and found Jermeisha Nance dead. Two men were transported to a hospital in critical condition. Another man was transported Two others were transported to hospitals in non-critical condition.

No arrests have been announced.

Keland Nance said he believes his daughter was caught in the middle of violence “at the wrong time, at the wrong place, with the wrong people.”

He said his daughter struggled some trying to balance life as a teenage parent.

Recently, he recalled, the two had a conversation about her current standing in life. He said she had just reached a point where she was solidifying her independence. She planned to be a bartender and did hair and eyelashes on the side.

“I think by the time she realized the importance of responsibility, she went out that night,” he said.

Jermeisha Nance’s grandmother, Frankie Strong, agreed she had challenges.

“Jermeisha kind of got off on the wrong track when she was trying to straighten her life up,” Strong said.

'A very vibrant girl’

Jermeisha Nance’s family remembers her as a funny and happy child who had aspirations to be a teacher and a lawyer. In middle school, she ran track and played softball.

“I think she could’ve been anything she wanted to be,” her father said. “Jermeisha was a very vibrant girl. She had a buzz that created like a magnetic feeling for people.”

Keland Nance said his daughter was naturally driven. He owns a hand car-washing business and remembers her working hard to earn money.

“This was her at 13, 14-years-old – she was outworking some of the grown people that were working for me,” he said. “By the time she was 15,16, I could just see her aspirations for life.”

A 3-year-old left behind

During an interview with The Commercial Appeal, Nance took a phone call regarding the funeral. He returned flustered about the conversation with a family member.

“The shooter does not know – this is the type of stuff that’s created when you kill somebody. When you shoot somebody’s loved one, this is what happens. You create a breakdown in the family dynamics,” he said. “This is a whole lot real fast.”

He said his daughter was a good mother to her daughter, Nautica Powell, and, naturally, her absence will be felt.

“This is an adverse childhood experience. So, it’s delicate,” he said. “As she gets older, she’s going to need counseling.”

Nance said he and the rest of the family must carry Nautica through “rites of passage” and support all of her needs.

“The grieving process is going to be the hardest for her,” Nance said about his granddaughter. “She was my baby, true enough, but that’s her mom."

Nautica's dad is heavily involved in her life, Keland Nance said. And so are her aunts, grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents.

"I think it’s very important that we all – in all efforts – take on the responsibility of raising her," he said.

Follow Alexa Imani Spencer on Twitter: @AlexaImani

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: He left gangs for his daughter. Then she was killed in a shooting