Sierra Vista High School student Demontre Carroll was only 15 years old, but he had lived through enough tragedies and seen enough violence to last a lifetime.
His father, a member of the Crips street gang, was shot and killed in a gang shooting in California when Demontre was a child. His mother, who authorities said also was a gang member, died when Demontre was about 11.
In 2006, Demontre witnessed the killing of two Crips gang members in California and became a key witness in a Riverside County trial involving 14 hard-core gang members.
Authorities moved Demontre and his family to Las Vegas for his safety. But in October 2007, Demontre was gunned down in front of his southwest Las Vegas home.
His slaying, Las Vegas authorities said, had nothing to do with the California homicides.
The teen accused of shooting Demontre in the back, Raymond Roseby, was sentenced Thursday to spend eight to 20 years in prison for the crime.
"I never meant for this to happen," said Roseby, 16, who pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a deadly weapon.
One of his attorneys, Deputy Special Public Defender Ivette Maningo, said Roseby's mother thinks about Demontre every day and finds it shocking that her son killed him.
"It's something this family is working through," she said.
Authorities said Roseby shot Demontre because the two had an ongoing fight after they were arrested for burglary. Each believed the other talked to police about the case.
Demontre's life wasn't defined by violence. Relatives said Demontre wasn't a gang member (Authorities dispute that.) and, as a sophomore at Sierra Vista, played defensive back for the football team. He and his eight siblings lived with their grandfather at a house near Decatur Boulevard and Blue Diamond Road.
His family returned to California after he was killed.
"I miss my grandson," said Lawrence Davison, Demontre's grandfather who attended Roseby's sentencing Thursday.
Demontre had a chance to begin a new life when he moved to Las Vegas, said Deena Bennett, supervising deputy district attorney with the Riverside County district attorney's office.
Bennett is the prosecutor in the case of the 14 gang members Demontre was going to testify against. He was killed 16 days before he was set to testify. Three other witnesses in the Riverside case were threatened, but only Demontre was killed.
"I felt Demontre never had a chance in life," she said.
The Riverside double-homicide case involved an ongoing dispute between three California-based gangs, one of which Demontre was affiliated with, according to court documents.
On Feb. 7, 2007, members of the three gangs had a shoot-out in Banning, Calif., that left two gang members dead. Demontre was the only witness willing to testify in court.
Bennett said she still believes Demontre was slain because he was a witness.
"Do I have anything concrete? No. Do I still have suspicions? Yes," she said. "It's too coincidental.
Contact reporter David Kihara at dkihara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
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