Four individuals have been sentenced for their roles in a deadly shooting orchestrated over a neighbor dispute, which resulted in the tragic death of 3-year-old Luis Diaz in Cleveland, Ohio.
Katherine Treadway, Juan Davis, Devonte Parker, and Jayden Sorensen faced sentencing on Tuesday for the September 28, 2023, killing of the toddler, who was caught in a hail of bullets when gunmen opened fire on a vehicle outside a duplex on West 66th Street and Denison Avenue.
Dispute Turns Deadly
According to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley, Treadway had an argument with her 31-year-old neighbor before calling her boyfriend, Davis, multiple times.
Davis then arrived with Parker and Sorensen, armed with a handgun and a rifle. The shooters fired multiple rounds at the neighbor’s vehicle before fleeing in a getaway car driven by Davis.
The neighbor survived the attack, as did an 11-month-old infant who was in the vehicle at the time. However, Luis Diaz, who was nearby, was struck and killed.
Convictions and Sentencing
Davis and Parker were found guilty by a jury, while Treadway and Sorensen accepted plea deals.
- Juan Davis and Devonte Parker were convicted of murder, attempted murder, felonious assault, involuntary manslaughter, and weapons charges.
- Katherine Treadway and Jayden Sorensen pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, attempted murder, and felonious assault. Sorensen, who was only 16 at the time of the shooting, also admitted to improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
During sentencing, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Shannon M. Gallagher condemned the defendants for taking the life of an innocent child, calling the crime “haunting”.
“We’re never going to find out how tall this little boy was going to be because his life was stolen from him,” Judge Gallagher said. “He’s never going to grow up. He’s never going to get a driver’s license. He’s never going to fall in love and have the opportunity to have his own kids. That is heartbreaking.”
Family Demands Justice
Luis’ family, who attended the sentencing and launched a GoFundMe in his memory, expressed grief and outrage over the senseless killing.
“I miss my grandson a lot,” his grandfather said in court. “I used to see this on the news. Never thought it was going to happen to me or my family. And it did.”
His father, holding up photos of Luis, said:
“All of this has been hard and stressful. I haven’t been myself since I lost my first child.”
Prosecutor: ‘Simply Outrageous’
Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley did not mince words in his statement following the verdict.
“Luis Diaz died because these four defendants are simply idiots,” O’Malley said. “Simply outrageous.”
This case serves as another grim reminder of the devastating impact of senseless gun violence, leaving a grieving family and a shattered community in its wake.
