A 17-year-old was sentenced Friday to 25½ years in prison for his role in the stabbing death of his friend near Harding High School in St. Paul, a killing that allegedly was over a threat sent through Snapchat.
Jay’Mier Givens (Courtesy of Waynesha Givens)
Jay’Mier Keymari Givens, 19, of St. Paul, was killed in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood on March 31. He’d been stabbed 22 times, with most of the wounds to his back and one to his neck, and was found by first responders lying face up and unresponsive on a sidewalk near Harding. He had a pulse, but was pronounced dead about a half-hour later at Regions Hospital.
Police arrested Jeremy Joe Davila, St. Paul, who turned 17 the day of the killing, and a 14-year-old boy. Last month, Davila waived juvenile certification and pleaded guilty in Ramsey County adult court as charged to aiding and abetting second-degree intentional murder. He agreed to the presumptive guideline sentence of 25½ years to avoid an aggravated sentence.
According to the complaint against Davila, the 14-year-old told police that both he and Davila had knives and repeatedly stabbed Givens. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office said that because of the 14-year-old’s age it could not provide information about him under Minnesota data privacy laws.
‘Just horrible to me’
Givens graduated from Journeys Secondary School in St. Paul four months before his murder.
On Friday, his mother, Waynesha Givens, pulled out his graduation hat and diploma and showed them to the courtroom during her victim impact statement, saying: “It was not easy getting there, but we did it.”
She gave birth to her son at age 14, she said, adding “knowing that he only had this short time on Earth is just horrible to me. … But Jay’Mier is still here with us, I feel it in my heart. And he made me who I am today.”
She said her son, Givens and the boy were friends.
“Jay’Mier spoke so highly of Jeremy, not one bad thing ever,” she said.
“I thought that he was your homey, bro,” Jay’Mier’s uncle DeWayne Givens said while looking at Davila, who kept his head down for much of the hearing.
Jay’Mier’s aunt Rodnisha Love said he turned 19 the month he was murdered.
“That these kids took his life is not fair,” she said.
Snapchat threat
Givens’ cellphone showed he received a call at 10:04 p.m. on March 31. There were also multiple text messages between 10:07 and 10:34 p.m., during which someone from the number said they had a stolen Kia vehicle and wanted Givens to come “smoke n chill.”
Givens’ brother told police that Givens had left the home that night “to smoke” with his two friends, who he identified as “JC” and “Jeremy.”
The 14-year-old’s girlfriend told investigators that Givens had threatened over Snapchat to kill her 1½-year-old son and that the 14-year-old was upset about it, the complaint says.
After police arrested the 14-year-old, he said they’d texted Givens and “fabricated the story about the stolen Kia … because they knew it would interest Givens.” He stated, “that was a coverup” and “there was no car.”
The mother of Davila, who was also the foster mother of the 14-year-old, told police she hadn’t seen either teen since April 1, the day that Davila told the family they needed to leave “because it was not safe” and mentioned retaliation, according to the complaint.
The 14-year-old told police that when he, Davila and Givens met up and were smoking marijuana, he asked Givens “why he said that stuff” about his girlfriend’s son. He said he and Davila pulled out knives and stabbed Givens, adding: “We both did it multiple times.”
On April 8, police carried out a search warrant at the address linked to Davila and the 14-year-old on Margaret Street between Hazelwood and Germain streets. They found two knives hidden in basement rafters.
Admission in court
At his Dec. 5 plea hearing, Davila, upon questioning by his attorney Bobby Champion, said the three agreed to meet to smoke marijuana and walked into a wooded area, just west of the high school.
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Davila agreed with his attorney’s assertion that an “unpleasant” conversation broke out between the three of them in the woods, according to a transcript of the hearing filed in court.
Davila said he pulled out a knife, as did the 14-year-old, and they both stabbed Givens, who then tried to run away.
On Friday, Davila’s attorney told Ramsey County District Judge Jacob Kraus that he was remorseful and has taken responsibility for what he did.
Davila declined to address the court before hearing his sentence. The judge asked whether he was sure about that, to which the teen said, “May he rest in peace.”
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