4 sentenced in 3-year-old’s killing in car seat, OH officials say. ‘They took my heart’
.png "Three-year-old Luis Diaz was killed during a neighbor dispute in Cleveland, officials say.")
Four people were sentenced in connection to a shooting death that left a 3-year-old dead in Ohio.
Katherine Treadway, 31, Juan Davis, 35, Devonte Parker, 30, and Jayden Sorensen, 18, were sentenced to prison for their roles in the death of 3-year-old Luis Diaz, officials said.
Davis and Parker were both sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 49 years, WKYC reported. Treadway was sentenced to 20-25 years in prison, and Sorenson was sentenced to 11-15 years in prison, according to the outlet.
McClatchy News reached out to attorneys for Davis, Treadway and Sorensen for comment but did not immediately hear back. Attorney information for Parker was not available.
On Sept. 28, 2023, Treadway got into an argument with a 31-year-old man who lived in the same duplex, according to a Feb. 11 news release from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.
Treadway called her boyfriend, Davis, then moved her vehicle out of the driveway, prosecutors said.
Several minutes later, Davis drove to a nearby street, and Parker and Sorensen, who was 16 at the time, got out of the car, both with guns, officials said. The two then began shooting toward the 31-year-old man, the release said.
Parker and Sorensen ran back to the vehicle where “Davis was waiting with the car still running,” then all three left, according to prosecutors.
The 31-year-old man, who was standing outside a vehicle parked in the duplex driveway, was shot in the foot. At least five bullets hit the vehicle, which had a 22-year-old sitting in the front seat and 3-year-old Luis Diaz and an 11-month-old sitting in their car seats, officials said.
One of the bullets struck Luis in the back, prosecutors said.
The two were taken to a hospital where Luis was pronounced dead, according to officials.
“I want justice for my baby. They took him away. He was our hero. My life is not the same anymore without him. He was special, they took my heart,” Luis’ grandmother said during the Feb. 18 sentencing, according to WJW.
Sorenson, Treadway and Davis all apologized to Luis’ family during the sentencing, the outlet reported. Davis saying he wishes he “could bring him back,” and Sorenson saying that after finding out he has a daughter of his own he sees “everything differently.”
“3-year-old Luis Diaz died because these four defendants are simply idiots,” prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said in the release. “The issues between Katherine Treadway and Juan Davis led these four to shoot up a car and kill a child. Simply outrageous.”
According to officials, Davis had a previous unrelated case in which Treadway was listed as the victim. The 22-year-old who was sitting in the vehicle with the two children was a listed witness in that case.
“Treadway had previously texted Juan Davis that she would not be showing up to court to testify against him leaving the 22-year-old victim as the only witness that could testify in his previous case,” prosecutors said.
Luis was “a child who loved chips, sizzling bacon, Hot Wheels, the show ‘Octonauts,’ and was so full of life with such a bright future ahead of him,” a GoFundMe page said.
On Feb. 11, Davis was convicted of two counts of murder, six counts of felonious assault, three counts of attempted murder, one count of Involuntary manslaughter, one count of discharge of firearm on or near prohibited premises.
Parker was found guilty of two counts of murder, six counts of felonious assault, three counts of attempted murder, two counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count of discharge of firearm on or near prohibited premises and one count of having weapons under disability.
In January, Treadway and Sorenson both pleaded guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of attempted murder and one count of felonious assault. Treadway also pleaded guilty to one count of having weapons under disability, and Sorenson pleaded guilty to one count of improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle.
