2 Men Sentenced To Life In Prison In Revenge Killing Of 2-Year-Old Girl

DETROIT (WWJ) - Two men convicted in the shooting death of a 2-year-old girl have been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Raymone Jackson, who pulled the trigger, addressed the family prior to his sentencing Tuesday before Wayne County Judge Ulysses Boykin.

"My deepest apologies to the Gross family, and I would like to see to the French family, my deepest apologies to the French family. None of this was supposed to happen," Jackson said.

A Wayne County Circuit Court jury earlier this month found Jackson guilty of first-degree murder, felonious assault and firearms charges in the July 1, 2014, shooting of Kamiya Gross outside a house in Inkster.

Raphael Hearn, who prosecutors said helped plan and carry out the attack, was convicted of the same.

The toddler's father, Kenneth French, and a 13-year-old girl were also shot and injured in the attack.

Given her chance to speak before the court, Kamiya's mother, Erika Gross, addressed Jackson directly.

"You've got a pretty daughter, so for you to do something like this, it's outrageous," Gross said. "Whatever happens to you, you will never know how I feel. You never deserve to be called a father to that beautiful little girl that you have."

Police have said the killing was revenge for previous shooting at a nightclub three months earlier.

"(This is) one of the most heinous crimes I have ever seen in my 45 years in the legal profession," said Judge Boykin Tuesday. "To say anything further would be redundant, because I could never say enough."