HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) — The trial for one of three men charged in connection with an 8-year-old’s death that was supposed to start Monday, Oct. 27, was rescheduled to February after a key witness skipped out on court.
That witness is Davone James-Crockett, who’s now been charged with failure to appear. Court officials said he was notified he needed to appear.
The trial is for 22-year-old Jamari Taylor is accused of killing P’Aris Moore, who was shot and killed in her front yard in the 2300 block of Freeman Street on Dec. 30, 2022.
While the judge agreed the case shouldn’t move forward without James-Crockett, for P’Aris’s family, it’s disappointing.
“I’m devastated that we had to get another continuance today,” said Brionna Taylor, P’Aris’s mother, who is not related to Jamari Taylor.
For nearly three years, Brionna has been waiting for P’Aris to get justice.
“I’m tired of going back and forth to court,” she said. “I’m tired of coming back here.”
P’Aris was just days away from her ninth birthday when police say three men drove down her street and shot her from inside the car. In addition to Jamari Taylor, the other two suspects charged with her death were 20-year-old Rayquan Harvell and 19-year-old Brandon Warner.
In August 2023, all three men were charged with first-degree murder and felony use of a firearm, and Jamari picked up a conspiracy to commit first-degree murder charge.
Warner pleaded guilty in March and is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence, and Harvell will be back in court in February.
“It’s like a never-ending thing,” Brionna said. “We can’t work on anything because every time we turn around, we gotta come right back to court and relive it all over again.”
P’Aris would have turned 11 in January. Brionna said she’s planning a birthday party to celebrate with close friends, family and P’Aris’s teachers, the people she’s leaned on for three years.
“They always support me through everything when it comes to birthday parties, even if it’s just coming for a quick moment, they’re always here,” she said.
Jamari is already serving a 50-year sentence for a different murder he committed in June 2023 and pleaded guilty to in March 2024.
His trial for P’Aris’s death will now start on Feb. 17, 2026.
