Ta'Tyana Hamilton was a 26-year-old Black woman from Toledo, Ohio, who was remembered by friends as funny and down to earth. A graduate of Calvin M. Woodward High School, her life was cut short at what should have been a happy family celebration.
On the afternoon of May 29, 2019, a graduation party was being held at a home on the corner of Chesnut and Dexter Street in north Toledo. Just before 3 p.m., a fight broke out at the party over a custody dispute.
The argument escalated, and gunfire erupted. Three people were struck by bullets in the chaos. Ta'Tyana was transported to a hospital, where she died from her injuries. A 17-year-old girl and a man were also shot but sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
In the immediate aftermath, police arrested 19-year-old Darius Stenson and charged him with murder. As the investigation continued, however, authorities identified Ta'Tyana's 17-year-old cousin, Devon Hands Jr., as the person who had accidentally shot her during the altercation at his own graduation party.
Because of his age and the use of a firearm, Hands' case was initially sent to adult court. In March 2021, he entered a plea to involuntary manslaughter. As part of the agreement, prosecutors dismissed the firearm specifications against him. This change allowed the case to be sent back to Lucas County Juvenile Court to determine if Hands could be rehabilitated within the juvenile system.
In April 2021, a Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge sentenced Hands, then 19, to an indefinite prison term of four to six years. The judge stayed this adult sentence, however, pending the outcome of the juvenile court proceedings. As of June 2021, Hands was awaiting his final sentencing hearing in juvenile court.
