By Carla Branch
alexandrianews.org
Jamal Berry. (Courtesy Photo)
In 2007, Jamal Berry graduated from T. C. Williams High School and was off to prep school in Maine, a promising collegiate lacrosse career ahead of him. Today, he was sentenced to 38 years in prison, 20 of those years suspended, for his involvement in the murder of Khalil Siddiqi. His co-defendant, Joshua Moore, who pulled the trigger, was sentenced to 60 years in prison with 24 years suspended.
Berry, 20, tapped his foot and looked at his mother and the other witnesses who came to Alexandria Circuit Court to speak on his behalf. When Judge Donald Haddock pronounced his sentence, Berry put his head on the defense table and wept. Even after the guilty pleas and today’s sentencing, those who know Berry still don’t understand how the star athlete could have been involved in luring a cabdriver to a deserted street in the middle of the night to be robbed of $60 and then shot in the head.
“When I heard that Jamal was involved in this tragedy, I was flabbergasted,” said Margaret Fitzsimmons, who has known Berry for the past seven years through her involvement with the T. C. lacrosse booster club. “Jamal was always very respectful of adults. He was a bit immature sometimes and his mother was a little over-protective but he was always a very nice young man.”
Allan Hines, a leader at Beulah Baptist Church, had similar comments. “I saw Jamal at church on Sundays and have known him and his family for the past 17 or 18 years. I always thought he was a young man with a lot of integrity,” Hines said.
Berry’s mother, Wanda, also testified on her son’s behalf. “I was always there to support Jamal and he was there for me,” she said. “He used to bring his friends to our house but I never met the two people he was with when this happened. He never brought them around.”
Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Shelby Hadfield said that his past life should not sway the judge in imposing sentence. “Jamal Berry chose to get involved with his two co-defendants. He chose to handle Akeem Chappell’s gun. He chose to drive Akeem Chappell and Joshua Moore on Jan. 17, knowing that Chappell had the gun in the car. He chose to stop at a 7-11 to call a Yellow cab driver to a deserted, dark location on Buchanan Street in the middle of the night for the purpose of ‘getting some money’.
“When Joshua Moore got out of the car, took the gun and told Jamal Berry that he was going to ‘leave’ Khalil Siddiqi, Jamal Berry didn’t try to stop Joshua Moore and he didn’t leave. He waited, knowing that Joshua Moore intended to kill someone.
“Then, the next night, again with his friend Akeem, Jamal Berry went to Leslie Avenue and fired shots from the same gun, with the same ammunition that was used to kill Khalil Siddiqi the previous night.
“Again, on Jan. 31, when he was arrested on Janneys Lane, Akeem Chappell was in the car and the gun was under the seat. Jamal Berry should have known better and should be held accountable for the life sentence he has given this family to live without the person who provided for them,” Hadfield said.
Jim Clark represented Berry. “The government suggested that I was going to stand up here and, on Jamal Berry’s behalf, ask the Court for leniency,” Clark said. “I am not going to ask for leniency, just for fairness and justice.
“Until three weeks before this tragic incident, Jamal Berry was a perfect son, a perfect student and a perfect athlete. He can still be a contributing member of society,” Clark said.
The Commonwealth Attorney’s office asked that Berry serve 22 years and Clark asked that Haddock consider a sentence at the lower end of the sentencing guideline of ten-and-a-half to sixteen-and-a-half years. Haddock chose the higher end, imposing a sentence of 38 years for second degree murder, robbery and the commission of murder with a firearm. Berry must serve 18 years in prison and then will be placed on supervised probation.
A Tale Of Two Defendants
Joshua Moore. (Courtesy Photo)
Moore, 18, showed no emotion, even when he read an apology. No witnesses came to speak on his behalf but people who knew him previously submitted letters to the court.
“The presentence report only touches the surface of Joshua Moore’s terrible childhood,” said Denise Tassi, Moore’s defense attorney. “He was one of eight children born to an unwed mother who had a terrible drug addiction. When he was four, he saw his older brother shot and killed on a basketball court. When he was eight, his mother died and though she was not a very good parent, Josh loved her and his death effected him tremendously.
“He was placed in a foster home in DC where he was physically, emotionally and sexually abused. Finally, when he was ten, he was adopted but by that time, his mental health issues were so severe that he ended up back in foster care and in group homes.
“He was finally sent to the Leery School where he began to turn things around. Unfortunately, he also met Akeem Chappell, another co-defendant, there as well.
“Josh did a terrible thing and has taken responsibility for his actions. Please consider his youth in imposing sentence. With a lot of work, he could be released into society and make a positive contribution,” Tassi said.
Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Krista Boucher disagreed. “It is ironic that Joshua Moore suffered devastating loss when he was a child and grew up to inflict a devastating loss on three other children. He was financially deprived and has inflicted financial deprivation on another family. The Siddiqi family’s home has been foreclosed on and they have had to leave their friends, their school and everything that is familiar to them to move to Texas to live with relatives.
“Joshua Moore took a gun and shot Khalil Siddiqi in the head for $60 to entertain some lady friends. Not only does the Siddiqi family have to live without the father and husband they depended on for everything but they have to live with the knowledge that his death was senseless. We ask the court to send a message to this family that the senseless loss of their father is going to be punished,” Boucher said.
Haddock sentenced Moore to 60 years for first degree murder, robbery and the commission of murder with a firearm. He must serve 36 years in prison before he is eligible for supervised probation.