John Henry Spooner gets life sentence in death of black teen | theGrio

theGrio

Back to the Top

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Home
  • Entertainment
    • Music
    • The Dish
    • Rhymes N Reasons
  • Health
    • Black Men’s Health
    • Ask Dr. Ty
    • Black Women and Breast Cancer
    • Back to School Health
  • Living
    • Travel and Leisure
    • Living Forward
    • Culture Watch
  • Politics
    • Perry on Politics
  • Sports
  • News
    • Good News
  • Opinion
    • Luvvie’s Lane

News

John Henry Spooner gets life sentence in death of black teen

by Dineshe Ramde, Associated Press | July 23, 2013 at 4:09 PM
Comments
Print
Share The Grio Share The Grio
This combination of file photo shows Particia Larry, right, on June 2, 2012, in MIlwaukee, holding a picture of her son son Darius Simmons, 13, and John Henry Spooner, left, in a photo provided by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department. Spooner was found guilty Wednesday, July 17, 2013, in Milwaukee of fatally shooting his 13-year-old neighbor, Simmons, whom he suspected of burglary. (AP Photos/File, Milwaukee County Sheriff's Dept./AP, File)

This combination of file photo shows Particia Larry, right, on June 2, 2012, in MIlwaukee, holding a picture of her son son Darius Simmons, 13, and John Henry Spooner, left, in a photo provided by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department. Spooner was found guilty Wednesday, July 17, 2013, in Milwaukee of fatally shooting his 13-year-old neighbor, Simmons, whom he suspected of burglary. (AP Photos/File, Milwaukee County Sheriff's Dept./AP, File)

Related Posts

  • Jury: Wis. man sane when he killed black teen neighbor
  • John Henry Spooner, 76, found guilty in shooting death of 13-year-old
  • 75-year-old Milwaukee man charged with shooting unarmed black teen
  • John Henry Spooner case: Wisconsin man faces trial for shooting 13-year-old black boy
  • Darius Simmons case: Wisconsin family outraged after killing of unarmed 13-year-old

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A 76-year-old Milwaukee man who fatally shot his unarmed teenage neighbor was sentenced to life in prison Monday, days after telling the court he killed the boy for justice because he believed he stole his shotguns.

John Henry Spooner’s home had been burglarized two days before the May 2012 shooting, and he suspected 13-year-old Darius Simmons as the thief. So he confronted the teen, demanded that he return the guns and then shot him in the chest in front of his mother when he denied stealing anything.

Spooner’s own home surveillance cameras captured the shooting, and prosecutors aired the footage in court.

A jury found Spooner guilty of first-degree intentional homicide last week, a conviction carrying a mandatory life sentence. The judge could have allowed for the possibility of parole after 20 years, but rejected that option, citing Spooner’s lack of remorse and desire to also kill the teen’s brother.

Spooner, who has lung cancer and other physical ailments, will spend the rest of his life in prison.

While in court for his sentencing, Spooner spoke in a frail voice that was sometimes difficult to hear and reiterated that he felt he had little choice but to take the law into his own hands.

“They had to rob the house,” he said. “Why’d they do that to me? … They pushed me over the edge, I guess. I don’t know. As far as being sorry, I don’t know if I did right or wrong.”

Judge Jeffrey Wagner replied sternly: “I can tell you, you did wrong. You took the life of a child.”

The defense had argued that the killing might have been reckless but not intentional, and said Spooner didn’t mean for the shot to be fatal.

The surveillance footage showed Spooner confronting Darius on a sidewalk, pointing a gun at the boy’s chest and firing from a few feet away. Darius turned and fled, and then collapsed and died in the street moments later as his mother cradled him in her arms.

Spooner fired a second shot that missed. He tried to fire a third one but his gun jammed.

Darius’ mother, Patricia Larry, has a wrongful-death lawsuit pending against Spooner.

Police searched Darius’ home within hours of the shooting and didn’t find Spooner’s weapons.

Spooner testified at trial against his attorney’s advice and said he killed the teen because he really wanted his guns back. He also acknowledged wanting to kill Darius’ older brother when he ran to his sibling’s aid as he lay dying in the street. But Spooner said he didn’t shoot the brother because he didn’t want to hit any of the others who had gathered around.

When prosecutor Mark Williams suggested Spooner killed Darius as revenge for having his guns stolen, Spooner replied, “I wouldn’t call it revenge. I would call it justice.”

Larry recalled those words from Spooner as she asked the judge to prevent him from ever being eligible for parole.

“I want him to be accountable for what he did to my son, Darius Simmons. I want him to have life in prison,” she said at Monday’s sentencing. “He showed no remorse and said justice was served. He is a menace to society.”

The sentencing came about a week after former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was acquitted in Florida in the February 2012 shooting death of Trayvon Martin, a black teen who was also unarmed. In the opening days of Spooner’s trial in Milwaukee, the judge told the jury pool to separate the two cases.

During the trial, race — Spooner is white and Darius was black — was almost never mentioned, except when Spooner referred to his surveillance footage from the day of the burglary. It showed two black teenage males walking near his house from the direction of Darius’ home. Their faces are difficult to identify and neither is carrying Spooner’s guns.

___

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Filed in: News | Related Topics: Darius Simmons, Dead, Death, John Henry Spooner, Life Sentence, Murder, Shotguns, Teen
  • Top Stories in News

    • NYPD’s treatment of mayor indicative of far worse NYPD’s treatment of mayor indicative of far worse
    • Dad charged with murder of 2-year-old Dad charged with murder of 2-year-old
    • Nashville police chief defends protesters Nashville police chief defends protesters
    • College student sues Alpha Phi Alpha, alleges hazing College student sues Alpha Phi Alpha, alleges hazing
    • NO INDICTMENT FOR COP WHO KILLED EX-FAMU STAR
    • Why aren’t we talking about the death of Victor White III?
    • Africans in America are ‘African-Americans’
    • Male porn actor infected with HIV
  • Hot Online

  • More from theGrio

  • Sponsored Video

  • On The Web:

  • What Your Friends Are Reading

  • TheGrio Favorites

    - George Stinney, youngest executed in 20th century

    - Real Time with Bill Maher

    - Black female hosts of ‘Saturday Night Live’

    - The 25 Top Influential Black American Leaders

    - The 20 best black sitcoms of all time

    - Denzel Washington’s 10 greatest movie roles

    - TV’s black child stars – where are they now?

    - theGrio’s 2013 fall music preview

    - Slideshow: The top 10 potheads in hip-hop

    - 15 films that hurt black America

    - Black women making their mark in space and science

    - The top 10 greatest black quarterbacks of all time

  • All-time most popular posts

    - Rihanna wears nothing but paint in her new music video

    - Meagan Good slammed by Christians on Twitter for BET Awards gown

    - Pastors disagree over new Oxygen reality show ‘Preachers of LA’

    - ‘Sleepy Hollow’ star Nicole Beharie: Kerry Washington ripped open ‘hole’ for black actresses

    - Fact or fiction? 6 myths black people believe about themselves

    - Permanent eye color change: New procedure may not be worth the risk

    - Tamron Hall talks ‘Deadline: Crime’ and opens up about her sister’s murder

    -  The 8 worst foods for high blood pressure

    - Michael Jordan’s daughter Jasmine responds to gay rumors via Instagram

    - Miriam Carey: Picture of psyciatric problems emerges

  • More from theGrio

More Stories on theGrio

Top News

Politics

  • US President Barack Obama (l.) North Korea leader Kim Jung-Un

    N. Korea calls Obama 'monkey,' blames hacks on US

  • Can GOP shatter 'Obama coalition' in 2016?

  • Obama bounces back in new poll

  • Assata Shakur will not be extradited to US

» Read More in Politics

Business

  • Wall Street

    US economy accelerates, helps lift Dow to 18K

  • SERENA'S NEW BEATS BY DRE AD WILL GIVE YOU CHILLS

  • THEGRIO MARKET OUTLOOK

  • Google finds beauty, strength in diversity

» Read More in Business

Living

  • Surprised Woman

    Study proves southern whites have more black DNA than they realize

  • Real Mom from ‘The Blind Side’ gets called out

  • Roller skating ringer bearer goes viral

  • A guide to African Diaspora art at Basel

» Read More in Living

Inspiration

  • (Vimeo)

    Dad's reaction to Christmas gift is priceless

  • World's 10 Most Popular Bible Verses of 2014

  • A Christmas surprise

  • Cop Saves Shoplifting Grandmother

» Read More in Inspiration

Entertainment

  • Maya Angelou

    New music video for Maya Angelou's 'Harlem Hopscotch'

  • Police confirm Bobby Shmurda spent Christmas in jail

  • Azealia Banks demands reparations

  • Egypt, Morocco reportedly ban 'Exodus' for historical inaccuracies

» Read More in Entertainment

News

  • (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

    School bans 'I Can't Breathe' T-shirts

  • Police turn backs on NY mayor outside funeral

  • St. Louis Police hand out $100 bills for holiday

  • Principal allegedly gambled away school funds

» Read More in News

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Politics
  • Living
  • Video
  • Inspire
  • Health
  • Entertainment
  • News
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Liberal Video
  • Advertise with TheGrio
©2014 D2M2 LLC
Powered by WordPress.com VIP
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 3,937 other followers

Build a website with WordPress.com