GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — The father of a murdered teen in Gastonia was stunned to learn a 17-year-old has been charged in connection with the case.
He told Channel 9 reporter Ken Lemon that he believed his son was targeted.
According to a search warrant, prosecutors said Jamony Kennedy should have been in a group home.
They said he got out of that home, hit a minor with a gun, and robbed him. They said he also took part in a planned robbery that led to the death of Brandon Sullivan, who was also 17.
“They took my son’s life,” said the victim’s father, Mike Sullivan. “I’m living a nightmare I will never wake up from.”
Mike Sullivan said three weeks ago, his son Brandon’s friends begged him to join them in a plan to buy vape cartridges from some other people.
However, when the group got to the exchange point on Midway Street in Gastonia, four or five people put on masks and surrounded the car.
Someone then hit the driver with a gun and shot Brandon, according to prosecutors.
“I lost my son. They are going to lose their lives for money he would have given them,” Mike Sullivan expressed.
Days later, police arrested 18-year-old Moises Pena-Gonzalez for robbery and murder. They said he set up the sale.
A grand jury then indicted 17-year-old Jamony Kennedy on the same charges.
According to prosecutors, before the fatal shooting, Kennedy had escaped a group home before robbing another unnamed minor in Gastonia.
“Going up to this individual, taking his phone, pointing a gun at him, and hitting this child in the head with a gun,” said Prosecutor Stephanie Hamlin.
Hamlin said police were looking for Kennedy in connection with that robbery when they learned he was part of the group that robbed and killed Brandon.
Mike Sullivan said these teens knew his son had money, and he believes they targeted him.
“Imagine the terror in him,” Mike Sullivan expressed. “It doesn’t make sense. What’s wrong with our youth?”
He said he believes the two teens who have been arrested should get the death penalty. However, state law prevents that for murder suspects under the age of 18.
Police, however, are still searching for at least two more suspects in connection with this case.
VIDEO: Fatal vape robbery leads to felony-murder charges for 18-year-old
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