Brother says his gun used in boy's death

Gets 5 years in youth detention

Liquarry Jefferson was 8 years old when he was fatally shot.

Jayquan McConnico faced up to 20 years in state prison for bringing home the gun that was used in the shooting death of his 8-year-old brother.

But prosecutors recommended five years in a youth detention center for the 16-year-old's role in Liquarry Jefferson's death last year.

The knowledge that he was responsible for his brother's death was already a heavy sentence, Suffolk Assistant District Attorney David Deakin said yesterday in a Boston juvenile court, where McConnico admitted his guilt.

"It is the Commonwealth's hope and belief that through his actions, he has suffered a far greater and more devastating punishment than I could recommend or the court could impose," Deakin said. "That is the loss of his brother who by all accounts he loved."

McConnico gave only yes-and-no answers to Judge Stephen Limon, who asked him whether he understood the consequences of pleading as a youthful offender to charges of involuntary manslaughter and misleading a police officer.

"You're giving up your presumption of innocence today," Limon told McConnico. "Do you understand that?"

"Yes," McConnico responded. His relatives were not in the courtroom.

McConnico also was placed on probation for nine years. If he commits another crime during that time, he could be sentenced to four to six years in state prison for the manslaughter charge or 2 1/2 years in a county house of correction for the charge of misleading police.

The plea ended one chapter in the tragic story of McConnico's family, whose long history of violence was exposed after McConnico's 7-year-old cousin accidentally shot Liquarry in the abdomen as they played on June 24, 2007.

McConnico admitted yesterday that he brought the loaded 9mm handgun to the family home on Seaver Street in Dorchester and stored it in a dresser in his bedroom. After the shooting, McConnico called 911 and told the dispatcher someone had shot his brother through a window.

When police arrived, McConnico told them two more lies. First he said a black man with a hooded sweat shirt had come in and fired at Liquarry. Then he said that three black men in hooded sweat shirts had come in and fired rounds.

His mother, Lakeisha Gadson, allegedly told officers that two men shot at her son.

Gadson, 32, has pleaded not guilty to several charges, including involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment, and misleading a police officer. Her trial is scheduled to start in April.

She could not be reached for comment yesterday. Her mother, Elaine Gadson, hung up after a reporter called her cellphone for comment.

McConnico's lawyer, Steven Sack, asked for a shorter probationary period, noting that the teenager has been excelling at the classes he is taking through the Department of Youth Services.

McConnico has been held at a DYS detention center since his brother's shooting.

Sack quoted one of McConnico's social workers as saying that "Jayquan is one of those kids who is not only salvageable, but could really be a success."

Deakin acknowledged that McConnico is a youth with a difficult past who has been trying to do better, but he said a long probation period was in the interest of public safety.

Limon agreed.

"I want to be sure that society will be safe," he said. "It's my hope . . . that the positive things that we have seen in him will be his future."

The Rev. William Dickerson, who led the memorial service for Liquarry at Greater Love Tabernacle Church in Dorchester, said family members are emotionally scarred by the child's death.

"The pain that the mother experiences, the grandmother, the aunts, the relatives, and the brother himself, they have to live with that the rest of their lives," he said. "Even though society or a judicial system may forgive someone for a certain act, sometimes it's awfully hard for a person to forgive themselves."

Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.