Final defendant in Toni Knight murder case gets 15 years' active time, plus probation

PETERSBURG – After Devin Jamal Mitchell apologized for his role in the 2022 shootout that took the life of a 19-year-old woman at a downtown apartment complex, Circuit Court Judge Dennis Martin took a brief recess.

While in chambers, Martin said in court Tuesday after the recess, he contemplated what the 21-year-old defendant had said minutes earlier, along with both the aggravating and mitigating circumstances that led to the death of Toni “Stinka” Knight. While he disagreed with Mitchell’s counsel that the young man could not have safely walked away from the confrontation in the lobby of the ArtistSpace Lofts on Perry Street, Martin said he believed the defendant was sincere in his statement. The judge also said he was struck by one of the comments Mitchell made in that allocution that he understands Knight’s family wants him to serve maximum time “and I deserve it.”

Martin did not give him the maximum sentence, but he sent him to prison for a total active time of 15 years, plus five years of supervised probation when he is released. He also added a warning.

“Whatever you do when you get out of prison, you make sure you honor this young girl,” Martin said sternly. “And I mean anything you do. You honor this little girl. I want you to make sure she did not die in vain.”

Mitchell was convicted last June of one count of manslaughter, and two counts each of shooting into an occupied building and shooting someone during the commission of a felony. His sentences totaled 30 years, but Martin suspended half of that time as long as Mitchell maintains good behavior and adheres to his probation mandate.

Tuesday’s sentence hearing ends the almost two-year legal process that began with the July 2, 2022, shootout at the apartment complex and included last year’s convictions of two other people involved.

Knight, the very first tenant of the ArtistSpace Lofts when it opened, was shot when she walked into the crossfire at the door to the complex and died at the scene. One of her two young cousins with her was injured by a bullet fragment.

Jesiah Flowers of Hopewell, the person prosecutors say instigated the confrontation, was sentenced Dec. 1, 2023, to 92 years in prison with 42 suspended. The third defendant, Keyshawn Hicks of Hopewell, pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement and was sentenced to 33 years in prison with 23 suspended.

Hicks was a juvenile at the time of the incident.

'He was my everything'

Before a hushed Circuit Court room punctuated only by the sobs of some gallery visitors, Mitchell apologized to Knight’s family “for what they’re going through” since the events of July 2 unfolded.

“I understand they want me to face my max time, and I deserve it,” he said.

Mitchell, whose past high-school beefs with Flowers were the catalysts for the shooting, spoke clearly in his allocution. He reiterated points made in testimony earlier from his mother and brother that he was someone who always tried to avoid confrontation, but he also said he was armed that day because he had been watching the news “and it’s a lot of crime” around the area.

“I’ve always tried to do the best things that I could,” Mitchell said.

His only blemish until July 2, 2022, was a gun-charge conviction as a juvenile. Lead prosecutor Thomas Chaffe noted that while cross-examining the defendant’s mother, asking Erica Mitchell if she recalled going to court with her son for the charge.

Erica Mitchell, whose state of health requires her to use a walker, said she recalled her son having to go to court. But when Chaffe asked if she knew why, she replied, “I don’t remember.”

She said her son was always doing things to help others and noted how she kept him and his two brothers involved in extracurricular activities in and out of school. Devin Mitchell played on one of the championship football teams at Hopewell High School.

“He don’t start drama unless someone comes toward him,” Erica Mitchell said. “He’s not confrontational at all.”

She said her son was “still very compassionate about the girl” who died and her family, referring to Knight.

“He was my everything,” she said.

The defendant’s older brother also testified to Mitchell’s tendency to play peacemaker.

“He was always trying to de-escalate things,” Deounce Mitchell said.

Stephen Sommers, Mitchell’s attorney, deflected points raised during the trial that the whole matter could have been avoided had Mitchell just kept on walking by Flowers on the staircase in the complex lobby.

“You saw [Flowers] taking the fighting stance with his gun on the stairs,” Sommers told Martin. “This young man feared for his life.”

As he left the building, Flowers fired a shot wounding Mitchell. At that point, Mitchell began indiscriminately firing his gun as he ran backwards from the lobby. One of his bullets struck Knight in the chest, killing her instantly.

Sommers admitted to Mitchell’s recklessness in shooting, adding that he was firing the weapon “like a little boy scared to death.” Mitchell fled from the lobby to an alley off Brown Street, then threw the gun behind a semi-locked door and collapsed. That was where Petersburg Police found him.

“He was reckless,” Sommers said, “but not with a dark heart.”

‘I hate the world now’

The victim’s mother testified through tears about the impact her daughter’s death has had on her life. Diane Branzelle called Knight “my beautiful daughter,” adding that since the murder, she has not been able to live a normal life.

“I hate the world now,” Branzelle said. “Did I hate it before she passed away? No.”

Knight’s uncle, Frank Branzelle, spoke of how his two daughters – the cousins with Knight on the day she died -- “don’t want to be at school right now” and have seen their social life drop to almost zero. Both he and his sister asked the judge to impose the maximum punishment possible.

“I have to ask for the max,” Diane Branzelle said. “Because I didn’t get the max time with my daughter.”

She also showed compassion for Mitchell’s mother. “I feel for her,” she said.

Not a reflection of character

Before imposing the sentence, Martin told Mitchell the punishment did not reflect his character because he believed the defendant was sincere in his allocution. Instead, it is a punishment based on the bad choices he made on that day, such as firing the gun wildly knowing that innocent bystanders such as Knight were in the way.

Those choices, the judge said, robbed Knight of the opportunity to have a successful career and raise her own family.

“The only thing that’s left,” Martin said, “is a gravestone.”

After court, both the victim’s and the defendant’s families spoke at length about what just happened.

Diane Branzelle told Erica Mitchell that based on what her son told the judge, she also felt the sincerity. Frank Branzelle told her, “The judge did the right thing.”

Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI.

This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Last defendant in 2022 Petersburg murder case is sentenced Tuesday