Man accused in shooting that killed 9-year-old girl appears in Sacramento courtroom
A 21-year-old man on Thursday afternoon made his first court appearance since he was charged with an Oct. 3 shooting at a North Sacramento park that killed 9-year-old Makaylah Brent and wounded three people, including a 6-year-old child.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office formally charged Laise Burton Hands with murder in Makaylah’s death in the drive-by shooting at Mama Marks Park in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood.
Hands also faces three counts of attempted murder for the shooting that injured the 6-year-old girl and two adults, Ashleigh Brent and Tyriece Washington, according to the criminal complaint filed Thursday.
Family said Makaylah and two relatives hit by gunfire were not the intended target in the shooting. Since the Saturday shooting, several vigils have taken place with Makaylah’s family and others in the community calling for the gunman to turn himself in.
Each of Hands’ charges includes an enhancement for allegedly using a gun during the commission of the crimes, which indicates prosecutors believe Hands fired a gun that struck the victims.
Hands was wearing an orange jail inmate uniform when he entered the courtroom; his wrists in handcuffs and a mask covering the lower portion of his face to comply with the courthouse’s COVID-19 rules. Thursday’s court hearing was held remotely via Zoom teleconferencing and streamed live on the court’s YouTube channel.
Appearing before Sacramento Superior Court Commissioner Ken Brody, Hands did not enter a plea to the charges.
Brody scheduled Hands to return to court Dec. 15 for proceedings in the case. Hands did not speak much during the brief hearing, only to say he agreed to conducting the hearing via Zoom and telling Brody “Have a nice day,” as he left the courtroom.
Hands also has a previous serious or violent felony conviction, which considered a strike under that state’s “three strikes” law. He was convicted of felony assault with a semi-automatic gun in September 2017 in Juvenile Court, according to the criminal complaint.
Hands has been in custody at the Sacramento County Main Jail since Oct. 5, and he was re-arrested on the murder and attempted murder charges Tuesday, according to jail records.
The jail records also shows that Hands was initially arrested after a warrant was served in which he resisted arrest from a case in February. He also faces three felony charges including evading an officer, having a concealed firearm inside a vehicle. He’s also suspected of an illegal transfer of a firearm, hit and run and driving without a license.
This story was originally published October 15, 2020 at 4:37 PM.
