It started as another ordinary moment outside with a child playing, a mother nearby, nothing out of place. Then gunfire shattered it. A stray bullet cut through the chaos and struck Sequoya Bacon-Jones, turning a dispute that began online into a tragedy that unfolded in real time.
Now, the man responsible is facing the consequences.
Isiah Roberts, 23, will spend close to 20 years behind bars after pleading guilty to gunning down the 9-year-old girl during a 2022 shooting at a Trenton, New Jersey apartment complex that stemmed from a social media beef,according to NJ.com.
Authorities said that in March 2022, tensions flared in a feud that started on Facebook and led to a physical fight between two women at the Kingsbury Square apartment complex. One of the women involved was Roberts’ sister.
Roberts’ mother and sister called and texted him numerous times, demanding he “get down to Kingsbury.”
Roberts’ attorney, John Hartmann, said that when Roberts got to the complex, he was pointed to the man he was supposed to shoot, who was described as a “family nemesis.” Roberts then retrieved a loaded 9-millimeter handgun from an apartment and went back outside, where he saw many people gathered in the courtyard.
When he spotted his target, Roberts opened fire, sending everyone in sight running, including Sequoya, who ducked for cover.
Despite her attempts to hide from the hail of gunfire, a stray bullet still hit Sequoya. Her mother witnessed the shooting and attempted to administer medical aid to the child alongside several neighbors.
“I run up and my baby is laying on the ground covered in blood,” Sequoya’s mother, Sacha Bacon-Jones, told KYW in 2022. “She’s not crying at all, she’s just like moaning and she’s reaching for me and I’m like I can’t believe what I’m looking at. It’s not really happening, but it’s really happening.”
First responders did their best to treat Sequoya on the way to the hospital, but she died a few hours after she was admitted. Bacon-Jones said the shooting that took her daughter’s life started over “stupid Facebook stuff.”
“She was a bright 9-year-old, and she came into the world fighting, and she left this world fighting,” Bacon-Jones said after the shooting.
Hartmann said Roberts never intended to harm the girl, but admitted the shooting showed a reckless disregard for human life.
Roberts was 19 at the time of the incident.
As part of his plea agreement, he’ll have to spend between 15 and 18 years in prison. He’ll also have to serve at least 15 years and three months in prison before he’s eligible for parole.
His sentencing is scheduled for June.
