Isiah Roberts pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter in the 2022 shooting death of 9-year-old Sequoya Bacon-Jones in Trenton, New Jersey. The killing stemmed from a Facebook dispute that escalated into violence in an apartment courtyard. Roberts faces 15 to 18 years in prison under the plea deal.
Isiah M. Roberts, who was 19 at the time of the incident, admitted last week to the charges in court. His attorney, John W. Hartmann, explained that the shooting arose from an online feud on Facebook. Roberts was called to the Kingsbury apartments by his mother and sister after a related fight broke out. There, he targeted a 'family nemesis' with a 9 mm pistol, firing after believing the man was armed. Sequoya was struck while running for cover with her brother as they played outside with friends; her mother, Sacha Bacon-Jones, was present and tried to help her daughter, who later died from the wounds. Bacon-Jones recounted the horror to KYW in 2022: 'He shot off two rounds first, everybody scattered, and then he shot off another four rounds and my daughter got hit. I run up and my baby is laying on the ground covered in blood.' Hartmann noted that Roberts did not intend to harm the girl but acted with reckless disregard for life. The mother described the trigger as 'stupid Facebook stuff' and lamented, 'Now all I have are memories I can't make anymore.' Roberts, now 23, is set for sentencing in June, per NJ.com.
