On an early September day in 2008, what should have been a peaceful trip home from church for Donivan LaRon Crutcher and his friends turned into a scene of unimaginable violence. The 16-year-old male was a passenger in a red car driving near Pine Street and Cincinnati Avenue in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when a gray Chevrolet Caprice pulled alongside them. Inside the Caprice, three gang members, seeking revenge for a recent shooting, mistakenly identified the teenagers as rival gang members.
In an
instant, the quiet afternoon was shattered by the sound of an assault rifle. Vincent 'Venom' Berry opened fire on the vehicle carrying the teens. The barrage of bullets struck all four occupants. Donivan Crutcher was fatally wounded in the attack. His twin brother, Adrion, was left paralyzed from the waist down. Another passenger, Jeremy Williams, was blinded in one eye, and the fourth, Jahmal Bryant, was shot in the chest but survived. The tragic shooting on September 7, 2008, was a brutal case of mistaken identity that forever altered the lives of the Crutcher family and their friends.
The investigation into the senseless act of violence led to the arrest of three suspects. The triggerman, Vincent Berry, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The driver of the car, Rashad Romone Easley, was also found guilty of first-degree murder and received a life sentence. A third man, Antonio Wells, was convicted of accessory to murder. The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals later upheld the life sentence for Easley, ensuring that those responsible for the death of Donivan Crutcher would be held accountable for their actions.
