On a warm evening in Norfolk, Virginia, the life of 15-year-old Monti Davon Hughes, a Black male, was tragically cut short on August 13, 2018. Just before 8 p.m. in the 1300 block of Herbert Collins Way, the sound of gunfire disrupted the neighborhood. When police arrived, they found Monti suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal.
His mother, Toya Cooper, would later recall her son's last words to her: 'mom I'll be back,' before he left the house, never to return. Friends and family described Monti as a rising sophomore at Granby High School with a 'warm loving spirit' and a 'beautiful smile.'
The investigation into Monti's death led to the swift arrest of four individuals. A day after the shooting, 20-year-old Naquan M. Alexander was taken into custody. Soon after, police also arrested 19-year-old Freddrick Reid, 19-year-old Remono Newby, and 20-year-old Demontae Tyler. Alexander, Reid, and Newby were initially charged with second-degree murder and use of a firearm. Tyler faced a charge of being an accessory after the fact. The community, shaken by the loss of a young life in a neighborhood that had recently experienced another shooting, held a candlelight vigil to honor Monti's memory.
The legal process unfolded over the following year, bringing some measure of resolution to Monti's grieving family. In Norfolk Circuit Court on August 13, 2019, exactly one year after Monti's death, both Naquan Alexander and Freddrick Reid pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter. Their sentencing was scheduled for November 8, 2019. Remono Newby's case was set for a bench trial on October 16, 2019. While the specific outcomes of the sentencings and Newby's trial are not detailed in available online sources, the guilty pleas marked a significant development in the case. The resolution of the charge against Demontae Tyler is also not publicly documented in the available information. Monti's mother continued to advocate against gun violence, stating, 'It's time for the young ones to stop having the perception that they can be something in the streets that they can't be behind bars.'
