In a recent verdict, Deshawn Stafford, 20, and his younger brother, Tyler Stafford, 19, were found guilty of assault charges in connection with a fatal altercation that took place at LeBron James' Promise School in Akron, Ohio, in June 2022.
The incident led to the tragic death of 17-year-old Ethan Liming.
Deshawn Stafford was convicted of felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor assault, while Tyler Stafford was found guilty of misdemeanor assault. However, both brothers were acquitted of involuntary manslaughter charges, which had been reduced from murder.
The jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision on a first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter charge against Deshawn Stafford, prompting Summit County Common Pleas Judge Tammy OBrien to declare a mistrial on that count. Prosecutors have not yet revealed whether they will pursue this charge in the future.
Reacting to the verdict, the Liming family's attorney, Mr. Guttierez, expressed his clients' profound disappointment. "They feel their son was murdered yet again," he stated, adding that the family felt "brutally victimized" by the defendants and "victimized again by the system."
Guttierez also criticized those who attempted to frame the trial as a racial issue, stating, "It was never a race issue. Everybody picked sides in this community, both black and white picked sides. Did you hear anything about race in [the court room]? Race had nothing to do with it."
The fatal incident occurred when the Stafford brothers were playing basketball at James' school. Liming and his friends arrived and began firing a SPLATRBALL Water Bead Blaster at them. A fight broke out, during which Liming was punched unconscious, fell, and hit his head on the pavement. The Stafford brothers then stole a car belonging to Liming's group and fled the scene.
Subsequent investigations revealed that Liming's chest had been stomped on, although the official cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head.
LeBron James expressed his condolences to the Liming family following the incident, but has not commented on the matter since then.
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