State Attorney Susan S. Lopez announced that Ja’Marion Strange had been sentenced to 45 years in prison for the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy. A press release explains that Strange was 16 years old in 2021 when he shot the 13-year-old victim while the victim was riding scooters with his brother at the Lee Davis Community Center in Tampa. The State Attorney’s Office charged Strange as an adult. In November, a jury found him guilty of first-degree murder.

First-degree murder generally carries a mandatory life sentence. However, Strange was a juvenile at the time of the crime allowing the judge to depart from the conventional guidelines. During the trial, jurors heard from eyewitnesses who said they saw Strange shoot and kill the victim. Authorities also say surveillance video showed Strange’s vehicle at the scene and bullets that matched the casings at the scene were found inside the car.