Gunman who killed Belle Glade girl, 8, in 'senseless' drive-by shooting headed to prison
BELLE GLADE — The gunman in the February 2022 fatal drive-by shooting of an 8-year-old girl February will spend nearly the next 50 years in state prison.
Andrew James Thomas at one point faced the death penalty in the Feb. 4 slaying of Ronziyah Atkins outside her Belle Glade home. An agreement reached last week allowed the 22-year-old to plead guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm and receive a sentence of 45 years.
Circuit Judge Caroline Shepherd on Friday approved the deal, which also required Thomas to plead guilty to eight counts of attempted second-degree murder in an incident that even his own attorney likened to a mass shooting.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, which in a news release described Ronziyah's death as “SENSELESS,” said he fired at the house believing someone there had shot at him days earlier.
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Robert Gershman, the attorney who represented Thomas, said the negation was centered on getting his client, who was 20 at the time of the shooting, a term of years for his sentence instead of his life.
“Mr. Thomas was fortunate to plead to a term of years on such a mass-shooting type case,” Gershman said.
Marc Freeman, spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office, said prosecutors were satisfied with the outcome of the deal and giving Ronziyah’s family a rest from the case.
“We are pleased that the victim and her family have received justice in this case, and we hope they can begin to feel a measure of closure,” Freeman said. “The defendant will serve a long prison sentence for the tragic loss of life and violence at his hands.”
Rifle shots rang out as children played in Belle Glade yard
Ronziyah attended Gove Elementary School in Belle Glade, where she was part of the cheerleading squad. Braids adorned her curly hair. Photos shown during her vigil showed Ronziyah wearing pink and posing with puckered lips and extending a peace sign.
On Feb. 4, 2022, several members of the Atkins family were gathered at about 7:15 p.m. outside their residence on Southeast First Street, near Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Ronziyah was playing on the porch with a group of her cousins, all between the ages 2 and 13, when someone in a car drove by and fired 26 rounds from a semiautomatic rifle onto the property before speeding away, PBSO said in Thomas' arrest report.
Sheriff’s deputies found Ronziyah bleeding from a gunshot wound in the back of the head and flew her to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where she died.
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A witness told detectives they had seen a man with a rifle driving a gray, four-door car. Surveillance cameras captured a silver Kia Forte with a bullet-hole mark on its trunk surveilling the Atkins’ home minutes before the shooting.
Detectives learned the car matched the description of a vehicle owned by Thomas, and that it had been involved in a shooting reported nearby on Feb 1. The bullet casings recovered from the scene also matched those found three days earlier.
After a three-day investigation, deputies arrested Thomas at a Coral Springs home that was rented by TikTok rap stars the Island Boys. The rappers, Alex and Franky Venegas, described Thomas as a childhood friend.
Deputies who searched the home said Thomas had gone frantically around the house trying to hide the 9 mm Glock semiautomatic rifle. They found it wrapped in toilet paper in the laundry room, according to his arrest report.
A witness told detectives Thomas was in possession of the weapon when he arrived at the house and said it was “dirty” because he had used it to retaliate against someone who had fired at his car days earlier, according to Thomas' arrest report.
Thomas, a Royal Palm Beach resident at the time of his arrest, denied being in Belle Glade on the day of the shooting, saying he was 20 miles west in Clewiston. His mobile phone’s location, however, also placed him in the Belle Glade area, according to investigators.
Detectives concluded Thomas had driven 200 feet away from Ronziyah and her family before shooting “indiscriminately” at the residence and fleeing the scene.
No parole, no early release for Palm Beach County gunman
Prosecutors first charged Thomas with first-degree murder with a firearm, which is punishable by death or life in prison, and 12 counts of second-degree attempted murder. He also could not legally possess a weapon, since he was on probation at the time for armed robbery that he committed as a juvenile.
Thomas’ plea deal requires him to serve all of his concurrent terms — 45 years for second-degree murder and 20 years apiece for attempted second-degree murder — without the possibility either of parole or early release.
Last year, the State Attorney’s Office filed a notice of intent seeking the death penalty for Thomas. It withdrew the request with Thomas’ acceptance of the plea deal last week.
Janiya Brown, Ronziyah’s aunt, described her niece Tuesday as a caring, generous child who loved to play with her sisters and cousins and was “just sweet all over.”
At first, Brown said she didn't agree with any plea deal for Thomas, but when she heard the sentence, she thought it was fair.
“He got every count for every child that was in our yard,” Brown said. “And that was fair for the kids.”
For the Atkins family, Brown said, the plea deal mended only part of a wound that is still fresh, nearly 18 months later.
“We are still sad because we can’t get Ronzyiyah back,” Brown said. “It brings a little peace knowing he is behind bars.”
Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County man who killed girl in drive-by shooting sentenced
