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DJ, 19, Killed at School: Miramar Police Are Looking for Three Suspects in a Shooting Death at a School Dance Party

Posted on: Sunday, 7 May 2006, 06:06 CDT

By Stephanie Chen and Darran Simon, The Miami Herald

May 7--Sheron Sutton thought about killing the man whom he saw shoot his brother in the head.

But instead, Sutton crouched down on the concrete next to his brother, Devon Sutton outside the gates of Parkway Academy Charter High School Friday night and waited for help.

"I was really hoping my brother would say something to me," said Sheron Sutton, 21.

But Devon Sutton, 19, didn't say a word.

Sutton was shot shortly after 11:30 p.m. Friday after a fight broke out at a dance in the school's cafeteria at 7451 Riviera Blvd., Miramar police said.

The fight stemmed from a confrontation between the Suttons and a group who poured water on the Suttons' female 16-year-old cousin, a student at Carol City High, police said.

Devon Sutton, known as "Scooter," was pronounced dead at Memorial Regional Hospital. Miramar police are looking for three suspects, said spokesman Bill Robertson.

"I have a lot of questions, still no answers," said Tanguela Lee, Sutton's mother.

BROTHER'S GIG

Sheron Sutton's DJ company was hired to DJ the Parkway party attended by as many as 800 to 1,000 kids, Sutton said. Many of them were dressed in camouflage for the party's theme.

About 500 students are enrolled at the school.

The Sutton brothers of Miami Gardens started their Friday night at a gas station at the corner of Miami Gardens Drive and LeJeune Road in Miami Gardens where Sheron Sutton runs a car wash. Around 10 p.m., they headed to Parkway.

Another DJ, Sutton's partner, was already DJing the party, Sutton said. Both brothers later DJed the party, said Sheron Sutton.

Sheron Sutton said his cousin told him a group of guys threw water at some girls. The brothers then confronted the group.

They argued, and Devon Sutton punched one of the men, sparking a fight inside the school, Sheron Sutton said.

The fight spilled into the high school parking lot, where a security guard noticed the commotion, Robertson said.

The security guard locked the school gate and asked everyone to leave the dance, police said. The fight continued in another parking lot.

During the confrontation, Devon Sutton drove his car to the gate, stood on his hood and climbed the fence, police said. He was shot in the parking lot outside the school gates.

About 60 people in the parking lot then scattered, said Demetria Vance, 17, and Ellese Johnson, 16, two teenagers from Opa-locka who attended the dance.

"We were just screaming and running," said Ellese.

A blood stain remained on the concrete Saturday.

Only one security guard, who was stationed outside, was at the school, Robertson said.

It was unclear if any adults searched people for weapons as they entered the dance. Robertson said there were no weapon checks performed on students.

But Richard Baker, who serves on the board of directors for Parkway Academy, said he heard from the school principal that chaperones padded down each teenager before entering the building.

Baker didn't attend the dance and said he didn't know how many school employees and parents had chaperoned.

Typically, schools ask the Miramar police to send extra officers to patrol school events that draw several hundred students, Robertson. But the school did not ask for the department's help, he said.

NEW FATHER

At 42 Car Wash, Sheron Sutton's business in Miami Gardens, family and friends gathered to mourn Sutton, who became a father three weeks ago.

"He was so amazed about this baby, couldn't wait 'til he walked," said LaQuana Arnold, 23, mother of 3-week-old Devon Sutton Jr.

Friends made T-shirts with Sutton's picture in his memory. They plan to hold a memorial for Sutton today at the car wash, 4195 NW 183 St.

"He was hot tempered. If he didn't get his way, he'll get mad," Sheron Sutton said. "But if you tell him to give you $20, he'll give it to you."

Broward County court records show Sutton received an adjudication withheld for aggravated assault with a firearm and grand theft stemming from a 2005 incident.

Devon Sutton was a 2004 graduate of Sagemount Academy in Miami and worked at a group home, his mother said. Sutton started a dance group called Unda Presha that performed in South Florida and other places.

Baker said grief counseling will be available at the school Monday.

"It's got to be terrifying for those high school students," he said.

In November 2005, Parkway Academy student Camille Burke, then 17, shot her classmate Kaliesha Cheatham on a school bus, investigators said. Cheatham survived the injuries. Burke faces life in prison if convicted.

Parkway Academy, a charter school offering automotive and mechanic classes for grades nine through 12, was founded in 2001. The school is run by a board that consists of members of the South Florida Auto-Truck Dealers Association.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS or Miramar police at 954-602-4000.

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Source: The Miami Herald

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