Man found guilty of murdering 9-year-old girl in 2020 shooting at Sacramento park
A man was found guilty last week of murdering a 9-year-old girl during a shooting at a Sacramento park in 2020, and he now faces more than 140 years in prison.
Following more than two years of proceedings in Sacramento Superior Court, 23-year-old Laise Burton Hands was convicted by a jury Thursday of murder, attempted murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm and two counts of assault with a semiautomatic weapon for a shooting at Mama Marks Park in the city’s Del Paso Heights neighborhood on Oct. 3, 2020.
Hands drove to the park that afternoon, exited his vehicle and fired nine shots at the park using a 9 mm handgun, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said Monday in a news release. Hands was attempting to shoot and kill a rival gang member, prosecutors wrote.
Instead, Hands shot 9-year-old Makaylah Brent, who died instantly, and three others at the park including a 7-year-old girl. The three other victims survived, including two of Makaylah’s relatives.
A second shooter, a male suspect who remained seated in the vehicle behind Hands, fired two additional shots using a .40-caliber handgun. That shooter has not yet been identified, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Family members gathered for an emotional vigil at Mama Parks Park one day after Makaylah’s death, where they called for the shooter to turn himself in. Sacramento police arrested Hands the following day, on Oct. 5, 2020.
The District Attorney’s Office and law enforcement officials have not specified the gang affiliations of Hands or his intended target, only saying they were members of rival gangs.
Hands is scheduled for sentencing May 5. Due to a prior strike conviction for assault with a firearm, he faces a maximum sentence of 144 years and 4 months to life in prison, prosecutors said.
This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 2:12 PM.
