Isis Wallace sentenced to 50 years in prison for 13 year old's death
Jun. 3—By GREG JORDAN
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — A Mercer County woman told the court and a 13-year-old girl's family Friday that she was sorry and remorseful just before she was sentenced to 50 years in prison for second-degree murder and other offenses.
Isis Wallace, 23, of Bluefield was brought Friday morning before Circuit Court Judge Derek Swope for sentencing. Wallace pleaded guilty March 29 to second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and conspiracy in the March 23, 2022 shooting death of Maryze Tatum, 13, of North Carolina.
Tatum was shot at the intersection of Cumberland Road and U.S. Route 460 in Bluefield when a bullet fired from Wallace's car struck her in the head. She was taken to Princeton Community Hospital and was then transferred to a Charleston hospital where she later died.
Wallace's mother, Nichole Brooks, 44, of Bluefield was driving. Wallace later told investigators with the Bluefield Police Department that she was the person who fired the shot. The car Tatum was riding in was also carrying her mother and Wallace's ex-boyfriend. Wallace and Brooks had pursued the car from their Memorial Avenue home after a domestic altercation. The ex-boyfriend, Kuwaun Barnes, had been charged earlier that evening with domestic assault and had returned to the home to collect his belongings.
On the second day of her trial Wednesday before Judge Swope, Brooks pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is currently facing up to 30 years in prison. Her sentencing will be conducted at a later date.
Judge Swope sentenced Wallace to 40 years in prison for second-degree murder, 10 years for the firearms charge and one to five years for conspiracy. The murder sentence and the gun charge sentence will run consecutively, and the conspiracy sentence will run concurrently with them, according to Prosecuting Attorney Brian Cochran, who represented the state with Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Josh Lawson.
"So second-degree is what's called a determinate sentence anywhere between 10 and 40 years," Cochran said outside the Mercer County Courthouse. "And the judge agreed with my office and the defense lawyers that the 40-year maximum was the appropriate sentence in this case. Now the use of a firearm during the commission of a felony is similar. It's up to 10 years and the judge agreed with my office and the defense lawyers that the maximum penalty of 10 years was appropriate in this case. Now we added the conspiracy charge on there and we're running that concurrently. The court accepted that to run concurrently."
These sentences give Wallace a total of 50 years behind bars. As part of the plea agreement, Wallace agreed not to seek parole until she's served 15 years of her sentence, he said.
Judge Swope told Wallace that with time off her sentence for good behavior, the sentence could be discharged in 25 years. She also received 430 days credit for her time in jail.
"Normally, she'd be eligible for parole I think after 12, 12 and a half years, but we tacked on that extra two and a half years to at least get her up to the minimum for first-degree murder," Cochran said.
People found guilty of first-degree murder with a recommendation of mercy can be eligible for parole after serving 15 years of their sentence.
"Truly from the bottom of my heart, I'm remorseful for my actions," Wallace said in a statement read by attorney Derrick Leflter, who represented her with attorney Paul Cassell. "Every day I live with the pain I've brought to your family. If I could go back in time and change my actions, I would. I never meant to take your angel's life."
"My actions were hurtful, selfish and downright wrong," Wallace also said in her statement. "I hope your family some day finds it in your heart to forgive me."
Tatum's grandmother Tayinikia Carlton, who was unable to attend Wallace's sentencing due to illness, addressed her and the court by video. She spoke about her granddaughter enjoyed singing and how she brought joy to the family.
"As hard as it is, I forgive you," Carlton told Wallace. "I pray to God for your soul."
Victim Advocate Jordyn Bailey with the Mercer County Prosecuting Attorney's Office read a letter to the court from Tatum's mother, Cierra Tatum.
"l am the mother of Maryze — the funny, happy-go-lucky kid. She loved to sing, she loved to dance, she loved to spend time with her siblings," Cierra Tatum told the court. "Maryze was a granddaughter. Maryze was a sister. Maryze was a cousin. Maryze was the life of the party when you were around her. She never wanted to see anyone upset, and would go out of her way to help people in any way she possibly could. I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with her. I was 13, the very age she lost her life. I was 14 when I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that we all loved so much."
Cierra Tatum spoke about the pain Isis Wallace and Nichole Brooks inflicted on her and her family. She told the court in her letter that another child was sitting next to her daughter when the shot that killed her was fired.
"Khalani, the baby who sat beside Maryze as you shot her, still hurts," Cierra Tatum said. "She doesn't understand that Maryze is never coming home. She always asks about Maryze."
"Laying my baby to rest is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. You have made me the coldest, meanest, most depressed version of myself I've ever been. I do not know who I am anymore without her. I lost my heart and soul when you and your mother took her away from me," she told Wallace. "I hate you both. I have so much hate in my heart for you, and even your family for supporting you through this process. I had to hold my baby's brains in her head to try to keep her alive until we arrived at the hospital. I still have nightmares about seeing them pull her jacket hood back, and watching her brain fall onto the stretcher. That is something I will never forget, nor will I forgive you for."
"You will never understand the damage you have caused my family," Cierra Tatum concluded.
Cochran said after the sentencing that he had again spoken with Maryze Tatum's mother.
"She's in total agreement with how my office and the court have handled this so far, and she agrees with me that the Bluefield Police Department did an absolutely fantastic job on this case, and she wanted me to relay to them how much she appreciates the police officers in this county and in Bluefield particular for how good of a job they did."
Detective-Lieutenant K.L. Adams and Detective-Sergeant K.L. Ross investigated the murder.
Judge Swope told Wallace that her case was one of the most tragic, if not the most tragic, one he had ever seen in his 45-year legal career.
Pursuing her ex-boyfriend's car and shooting at it were all unnecessary, Swope said. The result was a 13-year-old girl losing her life.
"If you're asking for forgiveness every day, then you need to do that," he told her.
— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
