Family Speaks as Two Get Life for Murder of 16-Year-Old
BOSTON, Dec. 2, 2013—Two Dorchester men were sentenced to life in prison today after prosecutors proved that they gunned down 16-year-old Jaivon Blake and nearly killed his 14-year-old friend in a gang-related shooting two years ago, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
SHELDON MATTIS (D.O.B. 1/22/93) and NYASANI WATT (D.O.B. 10/5/93) were each found guilty last month of first-degree murder in Blake’s 2011 shooting death and armed assault with intent to murder, aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and gun charges for also shooting Blake’s 14-year-old friend in the back and neck during the same attack. That second teen survived his injury.
At the request of Assistant District Attorney Mark Hallal, chief of the DA’s Senior Trial Unit, Judge Christine Roach sentenced Mattis to the mandatory term for first-degree murder, life in prison without the possibility of parole, as well as concurrent sentences of 10 to 15 years for armed assault with intent to murder, 10 to 15 years for aggravated assault and battery, two years for unlawful possession of a firearm, and one year for unlawful possession of ammunition.
Assistant District Attorney Greg Henning of the DA’s Major Felony Bureau, who second-seated Hallal at trial, requested that sentencing for Watt be held at a later date after an individualized sentencing hearing, during which prosecutors planned to ask that Watt be sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. The Supreme Court last year ruled in Miller v. Alabama that it is unconstitutional to impose a sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole on a defendant who was under the age of 18 at the time of the offense without first holding such a hearing. Watt turned 18 just 10 days after he fired the shot that took Blake’s life.
Henning further recommended that, if Roach chose to sentence Watt to life in prison with the possibility of parole, she sentence him to additional terms of 10 to 15 years for armed assault with intent to murder, 10 to 15 years for aggravated assault and battery, two years for unlawful possession of a firearm, and one year for unlawful possession of ammunition, with those sentences to begin after his release on parole.
Roach had previously denied the Commonwealth’s motion for a hearing, and – citing the need for guidance from the state’s Supreme Judicial Court on how to proceed with an individualized sentencing hearing – chose to proceed with sentencing today, sentencing Watt to life in prison with the possibility of parole in no less than 15 years. She additionally imposed sentences of 10 to 15 years on each of the charges of armed assault with intent to murder and aggravated assault and battery, as well as sentences of two years and one year on the firearm charges. She ordered each of the sentences to be served concurrent to the life term. Roach imposed her sentence without prejudice, meaning that it could be revisited once the SJC and Massachusetts Legislature take action on the 2012 Miller decision.
Relatives of both Blake and the surviving victim were present at today’s sentencing. Blake’s family members and friends each provided impact statements that prosecutors read in court.
“We would like to say that we are very happy with the charges found on both men. It brings some closure to the family,” Blake’s mother wrote. “We will always miss Jaivon. We will always miss his smile, the way Jaivon touched so many of his family and friends’ lives with his loving, caring, and devoted ways, and he will be forever missed.”
In her statement, she thanked members of the Conley’s office, Boston Police homicide detectives, and the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, which she said assisted with her son’s burial.
“My brother was really a great kid – really one of those people who actually cares when somebody is going through something,” Blake’s brother wrote. “I wish he could have lived his life and watched his younger brothers and nephews grow up.”
During seven days of testimony, prosecutors presented evidence to prove that the defendants planned the Sept. 25, 2011, shooting to demonstrate that the area surrounding Levant Street in Dorchester was the turf of a gang known as “Flatline.”
Testimony proved that Mattis engaged in a brief conversation with the surviving victim in an attempt to determine whether he belonged to a rival gang. He bought rolling papers for the boy and then returned to Levant Street and informed his associates that the young teen belonged to a rival gang.
Mattis then helped Watt conceal a .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun and gave him a pat on the back as Watt pedaled off on a bicycle toward Geneva Avenue, where the boy had met up with his friend, Blake.
Watt fired at least six shots, striking Blake in the back, piercing his liver, spine, and major blood vessels. Responding Boston Police officers were able to briefly resuscitate Blake, but he died at Boston Medical Center later that day.
The surviving teen was shot in the back and neck, leaving a trail of blood as he fled. He was treated for his injuries at Boston Medical Center and survived his injuries.
In addition to Mattis and Watt, two co-defendants, MATTHEW MITTON and RANDALL VARISTE-SCOTT, have admitted being part of the defendants’ gang and have pleaded guilty to charges of their own including witness intimidation and perjury. Another, MICHAEL TAVARES, is still facing charges of witness intimidation.
Katherine Moran is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Watt was represented by attorney Willie Davis. Mattis was represented by Scott Lauer and Kelly Porges.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
