Jakwan Keller admits firing shot that killed Hempstead girl

A Hempstead man admitted Friday to firing the bullet that fatally wounded a 12-year-old girl in her home in a 2015 shooting police said stemmed from a gang dispute — but the victim’s family called his plea deal an “injustice.”

Dejah Joyner was eating dinner in her Hempstead home when a single gunshot blasted through a window and hit her in the head on Oct. 16, 2015, according to authorities. The seventh-grader and Girl Scout died a day later while hospitalized.

Police arrested Jakwan Keller, now 22, in January 2016, saying more than 20 Crime Stoppers tips led to him. A grand jury then indicted Keller on second-degree murder and weapons charges.

On Friday, he pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter in Nassau County Court, with acting state Supreme Court Justice Meryl Berkowitz agreeing to sentence him next month to 5 to 15 years in prison.

The Nassau district attorney’s office required Keller to waive his right to appeal as part of the plea bargain.

Dejah’s parents held hands Friday in the Mineola courtroom, her mother dabbing tears from her eyes after Keller admitted shooting a gun into the family’s Dartmouth Street home, firing the bullet that ended the preteen victim’s life.

The victim’s parents left afterward without commenting, with Dejah’s mother, Keisha Miles-Joyner, crying and leaning into the shoulder of Dejah’s father, Dameon Joyner.

The victim’s grandfather, James Miles, called Keller’s plea deal an “injustice,” saying it wasn’t enough punishment.

“It’s ridiculous,” the Roslyn resident said. “He took somebody’s life, whether it was her life or anybody else’s. He should be punished for that.”

The district attorney’s office declined to respond to the grandfather’s comment. In a prepared statement, District Attorney Madeline Singas said Keller’s “unconscionable recklessness stole the life of an innocent child,” and extended condolences to “Dejah’s family, friends, and the entire Hempstead community.”

The slaying sparked outrage among many Hempstead residents, who said they viewed Dejah’s death as the most egregious example of gun violence gripping the village.

Last October, about 50 of Dejah’s fellow Girl Scouts marked the two-year anniversary of her death by releasing balloons into the sky at a memorial service by her Uniondale grave.

Keller had told police after his arrest that he had played no part in the crime, wasn’t in a gang and wasn’t foolish enough to do something that would mean throwing his life away.

“I don’t know about that,” Keller said of Dejah’s slaying during a 2016 police interview. “I’m sorry for that little girl.”

Police have said Keller and Dejah’s older brother belong to different factions of the Bloods gang, and that Keller shot into Dejah’s house from a vehicle because he believed her older brother had stolen a Hoverboard from his younger brother.

A reluctant eyewitness came forward six days after the shooting and identified Keller as the triggerman, according to police testimony at a court hearing last year.

But defense attorney Bruce Barket had said then that surveillance video proved what that person told police was untrue. The Garden City lawyer said it showed the supposed eyewitness had been walking away — not sitting on a porch as he said — before the shooter’s car drove up.

On Friday, Barket called the case “a horrible tragedy” where “no successful outcomes” were possible.

“Obviously Mr. Keller thought it was in his best interest to accept the plea offer from the district attorney’s office . . . But it’s clear that there was no intent to hurt anybody when the shot was fired,” Barket added.

Keller has remained in jail without bail since his arrest, and the judge again remanded him to custody Friday before his April 10 sentencing.