Two Lawrenceville men sentenced for fatal shooting of Jefferson football star Elijah DeWitt

Wayne Ford, Athens Banner-Herald
·2 min read
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Elijah DeWitt had a promising career as a college football player before he was slain in October 2022.
Elijah DeWitt had a promising career as a college football player before he was slain in October 2022.

On a warm September evening in 2022, Jefferson High School wide receiver Elijah DeWitt came off the field with seven minutes to go in the third quarter. In the game he had caught four passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns.

The high school senior was building a sure future as a college football player.

But a few weeks later, on the evening of Oct. 5, those dreams came to an end as DeWitt was shot to death in the parking lot of Sugarloaf Mills mall in Lawrenceville.

Two of the three suspects charged with murder in the case this week pleaded guilty in Gwinnett County Superior Court. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office confirmed Wednesday that Kemare Bryan, 18, who police said was the gunman, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Chandler Zion Richardson, 19, was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

More: Suspect in custody in connection to shooting death of Jefferson wide receiver Elijah DeWitt

Both men also received an additional five years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to the DA’s office.

A third suspect, Kpadeh Jones, 19, of Lawrenceville, is awaiting court disposition on his murder charge.

According to previous stories in the Banner-Herald, police collected text messages from Bryan and Richardson which indicated they intended to rob someone and DeWitt was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Channel 11-Alive news reported that Bryan told the court that “I was trying to scare him. That’s why I pulled out the gun,” adding that this led to a confrontation and a tussle before the fatal shot was fired.

DeWitt, according to the reports, grew up in Jefferson and played football there into high school, but he spent the 2021 season at Prince Avenue Christian School, before transferring to Jefferson High for his senior year, where he played for head coach Travis Noland.

DeWitt was already receiving serious consideration and offers from college teams.

DeWitt’s parents, Craig and Dawn DeWitt, have filed a civil suit against several businesses and security services at the mall location, in regards to their son’s death.

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Two men sentenced into shooting death of Jefferson football star