Second suspect in Pensacola man Ladarius Clardy's murder convicted, sentenced to life
The second suspect in the murder of Pensacola sports standout Ladarius 'LD' Clardy was sentenced to life in prison after being found a guilty during a two-day jury trial Wednesday.
It took a jury just one-and-a-half hours to decide that Amos Snowden participated in the first-degree premeditated murder of 18-year-old Clardy on July 1, 2021. Snowden and brother, Da'quavion – who was previously convicted for his role in the homicide – riddled Clardy's car with nearly 60 bullets, killing him and nearly killing passenger Eric Young, according to prosecutors.
After the verdict, Circuit Judge John Simon promptly sentenced Snowden to life in prison, mincing no words on how "senseless" the killing was.
"This was just senseless. It's just ridiculous that people put 60 bullets into a car thinking you're going after somebody, which is wrong anyway, and you kill an innocent person," Simon told Snowden just before levying the sentence. "And, to this day I have no idea how Mr. Young survived that barrage. He's a lucky man, and I'm sure he's grateful for the people in the hospital that got him out.
"Y'all took it upon yourself to riddle his car with bullets and took an innocent person off this earth," he added. "It's a shame, and it's senseless."
Snowden was also convicted of the attempted first-degree premeditated murder of Young and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, which Simon said will run consecutive to Snowden's life sentence.
Clardy's mother, Tracey Marshall, was allowed to provide a statement during the sentencing hearing after the trial, saying that Snowden sentenced her to life in prison without her son.
"Ladarius was a beautiful person, inside and out. We always knew he was special, just like his baby blue eyes," Marshall said. "I never had to visit the principal's office, courthouse or jail for my son. He was the true definition of a student-athlete.
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"He did not deserve to be gunned down by Amos and his friends," she added.
While Clardy's father, Ladaron, spoke at the sentencing hearing for Da'quavion's trial in 2023, he was not allowed to speak at Wednesday's hearing because Simon barred him from the courthouse grounds after Ladaron interrupted the court proceedings by shouting at and threatening Snowden.
Snowden will have 30 days to appeal his case.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola Ladarius Clardy murder suspect Amos Snowden convicted
