WASHINGTON — For the first time since her son's life was taken, Crystal McNeal confronted three of the four men charged in the fatal shooting of Davon McNeal.
"In honor of my son Davon McNeal I stand before you with a heavy heart," Crystal McNeal said reading her testimony in front of a crowded event in Southeast for the campaign 202 for Peace.
At 11-years-old, Davon was hit by a stray bullet in an anti-violence cookout that his mother had organized on July 4, 2020 in Southeast D.C.
All those charged in the case had previously pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed under aiding and abetting.
Carlo General, the man who the prosecutor says fired the fatal bullet, received the maximum sentence allowed per his plea deal of 16 years in prison with 5 years of supervised release.
Marcel Gordon, received 10 years with 5 years of supervised release; lastly Christian Wingfield received the lesser sentence with 9 ½ years and also 5 years of supervised release.
"The justice system did us wrong today," McNeal said who has worked in the community as a violence interrupter for years.
"No justice. I am hurting right now. I am in pain, like they got a slap on their wrist and I got a slap on my face. The timing is no good. They took my child away from me. I will never see my son again."
McNeal says her newborn son and Davon's football teammates keep her committed to working despite so much heartache. She vows honor Davon by continuing the anti-violence work she was doing the day he was fatally shot.
"I am his mom. I am a fighter. I am going to keep on pushing. Some days I be wanting to give up, but I am not going to give up because I want my son's name, I want everyone to remember my son," she told WUSA9 during an interview.
The fourth man involved in this case is Daryle Bond. His sentencing has been rescheduled for Aug. 4.