Men convicted of 9-year-old’s murder agreed to pay $900K. Will family get the money?
The three men convicted of killing a 9-year-old boy on his way to get snow cones in Durham three years ago have agreed to pay his family nearly $900,000 in restitution, according to court documents.
After a trial over the summer, a jury convicted Antonio Nathaniel Davenport Jr. of federal murder, gun and racketeering charges in the Aug 18, 2019, killing of Z’Yon Person. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Derrick Lamont Dixon and Dival Nygee Magwood pleaded guilty to similar charges before Davenport’s trial.
Dixon was also sentenced to life in prison. Magwood, who cooperated and testified against Davenport, was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Z’Yon was killed after the three men mistook Z’Yon’s aunt’s SUV for rival gang members’ vehicle and opened fire, killing Z’Yon and shooting his then-8-year-old cousin in the arm as they rode in the SUV to get snow cones.
The three men were members of the Braggtown-based Northside Eight Trey Gangster Crips.
They were seeking revenge after Davenport, also known as former 83 Babies rapper “Lil Tony,” had been jumped days earlier at The Streets at Southpoint mall, Magwood testified.
The three men agreed earlier this month to pay Z’Yon’s family a total of $888,857, according to court documents.
‘Won’t stop us from trying’
A forensic economist estimated Z’Yon would have earned more than $1.4 million if he had grown up and graduated from high school, court documents state.
Defendants’ attorneys countered with a restitution total of $888,857. Z’Yon’s mother didn’t object to the proposed figure, the document stated.
Lynne Klauer, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of North Carolina, said the office has a financial litigation section that is responsible for collecting criminal and civil debts.
“They will use all available legal means to identify assets or streams of income that a debtor may have or may acquire in the future,” such as inheritance, she said.
It’s hard to predict whether the money will be recovered due to individual circumstances, she said, but it can be hard if individuals are in prison.
“But it won’t stop us from trying,” she said.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons collects payments from defendants if they are working in prison. Inmates can earn from 12 cents to 40 cents per hour for some work assignments, according to the bureau.
A 2018 U.S. Government Accountability Office report found that federal courts ordered at least $33.9 billion in restitution between fiscal years 2014 and 2016. About $2.95 billion was collected during that time.
At the end of study period, about $110 billion in restitution was outstanding. U.S. attorney’s offices identified $100 billion of that debt was noncollectable due to inability to pay, the report found.
This story was originally published December 22, 2022 at 12:07 PM.
