A dispute over a pair of basketball shoes led to the shooting death of 17-year-old Caleb Mosley in Gulfport, Mississippi, on June 13, 2021. The male teenager was shot once in the abdomen, a wound that proved fatal as the bullet severed an artery in his spine. He died during surgery several hours after the shooting.
The incident began with an argument between Mosley and 16-year-old Cassius Vaughn Hanzy concerning a pair of fake Air Jordan basketball shoes.
This verbal altercation escalated into a physical fight. During the brawl, Hanzy's mother intervened and sustained a broken leg. Later that same evening, Hanzy, driving a black Mercedes-Benz sedan, shot Mosley.
Gulfport Police quickly identified Hanzy as the suspect based on information provided by Mosley and his father before he died. Although Hanzy initially denied his involvement, he later confessed when presented with video evidence from the hospital that showed him leaving and returning around the time of the shooting.
Hanzy was arrested and charged with the crime. On December 5, 2022, at the age of 18, he pleaded guilty. A Circuit Court Judge sentenced Hanzy to 30 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. The sentence consisted of 25 years for manslaughter with an enhanced penalty for using a firearm during the commission of a felony, and an additional five years for shooting at a motor vehicle. During the court proceedings, Hanzy expressed remorse and apologized to Mosley's family, stating he was upset about his mother's injury. The judge commented on the senselessness of the violence that resulted in the death of one young man and a lengthy prison sentence for another.
