A 21-year-old man, warned at age 17 he was not cut out for a life of crime, and a 17-year-old boy who has been a felon since he was 15 have been formally charged with capital murder over accusations they killed a 2-year-old Little Rock girl in November.
Ramiya Reed was fatally shot two days before Thanksgiving when someone fired into the back seat of a rented 2016 Toyota Camry being driven by her cousin Shunta Johnson, 38, on South Harrison Street about 10:30 p.m.
There were four other children in the car. The little girl was riding in the back with her mother, 28-year-old Rokiya Williams, and was the only one in the car hurt.
Charged on Thursday with her slaying are Larry James Jackson, 17, and Deshaun Malik Rushing. For the 21-year-old Rushing, the capital murder charge carries a possible death sentence. Jackson is too young to be executed, so he faces a minimum of 30 years in prison on the capital murder charge.
[HOMICIDE MAP: Interactive map of Little Rock's 2016 killings]
They are also charged with six counts of unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle, one for every other person in the car. Each count is a Class B felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The evidence against the pair has not been publicly disclosed. The arrest affidavits have been sealed.
Chief prosecutor John Johnson said he could not discuss the case against the men, but said prosecutors had thoroughly examined the police findings before filing charges.
"After a review of all of the facts and circumstances of this tragic event, we have agreed with Little Rock police to charge Larry Jackson and Deshaun Rushing with capital murder," he said.
The next step for the defendants is arraignment on the charges in Pulaski County Circuit Court, a first-appearance hearing expected to be scheduled around Aug. 1.
The case has been assigned to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Barry Sims. A 20-year veteran of the bench, Sims is already presiding over Little Rock's other 2016 toddler homicide, the December slaying of 3-year-old Acen Ameer King.
Acen was riding in the back of his grandmother's car, and police have attributed his slaying to road rage by a driver who didn't like how the woman was driving.
Police arrested 33-year-old Gary Eugene Holmes on charges of first-degree murder and committing a terroristic act five days after Acen was killed.
The investigation into Ramiya's slaying appeared to stall earlier this year despite the promise of a reward that grew from $10,000 to $40,000.
Not until the reward reached $50,000 in May, six months after the toddler's death, were police able to gather sufficient evidence to get arrest warrants for the pair.
Jackson was the first to be caught, arrested when he appeared in court in May on another case. Rushing surrendered the following day. Both men have been jailed ever since.
Prosecutors have nine months from their arrest dates to bring them to trial, although that time limit can be extended by court order if the judge finds good reason for delay.
Jackson and Rushing also have other legal troubles. Jackson is awaiting trial on a theft by receiving charge stemming from his November arrest over a January 2016 incident in Jacksonville in which police found him with a stolen car.
He has been on probation since a September conviction for theft by receiving. He also has a February 2015 conviction for theft.
Prosecutors have moved to revoke his probation based on a complaint that he was arrested in Texas in February with a stolen gun, court filings show.
Rushing has been on probation since September for cocaine and marijuana trafficking. In February, he was arrested and charged with fleeing, theft by receiving and two counts of aggravated assault on a police officer.
Police say Rushing rammed two Little Rock police cars that had been trying to pull him over after he was seen driving a stolen car. According to an arrest report, Rushing wrecked the car and ran, but was chased down by police who reported that Rushing had dropped a stolen gun during their foot chase.
He now also faces a felony charge of possession of marijuana after jailers, on the day he was arrested on the capital murder charge, reported finding 5.4 grams of the drug in a small bag hidden in his buttocks, court records show.
In July 2013, Rushing was a 17-year-old armed robbery suspect who had asked the court to be tried as a juvenile. The judge, Leon Johnson, agreed to transfer the case after hearing testimony that Rushing was getting good grades in school, including algebra.
He also advised Rushing to avoid a life of crime, noting that another defendant got the money from the holdup and refused to share it with Rushing.
"You didn't get any money. That tells me you aren't a smart criminal. This is not the life for you," Johnson said. "You've gotten a break. What you do with it is up to you."
Metro on 07/22/2017