Greenwood man, 20, sentenced to 55 years for murder for 2022 bus stop shooting

GREENWOOD – A Greenwood man will serve five decades in prison for shooting a teenage Clark Pleasant student at a bus stop two years ago.

Tyrique Sevin Radford El, 20, was sentenced to 55 years in prison for the 2022 killing of 16-year-old Temario Stokes Jr. The majority of Radford El’s sentence – 50 years – will be served in prison, followed by five years of probation; He also received a prison sentence of 824 days, making him more likely to serve 48 years in prison before parole. He previously pleaded guilty to murder in late September before Johnson Superior Court 3 Judge Douglas Cummins.

“Judge Cummins sentenced this murderer to half a century in prison. We are very pleased,” Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner said in a news release. “Although we cannot return Temario to his family, we hope that this long prison sentence – with no possibility of appeal against the sentence – offers some measure of peace to his grieving family.”

Chief Deputy Homicide Prosecutor Matthew Kubacki, who was the lead prosecutor in the case, said he hoped the verdict would bring justice to Stokes’ family.

“Temario Stokes Jr. was a young man who had his whole life ahead of him, only he lived it in this violent and senseless way,” Kubacki said in a news release. “Temario’s family has lost someone they loved very much, and while no judgment can make up for that loss, I hope it brings them some measure of responsibility and the beginning of healing.”

Multiple witnesses said Stokes was waiting at a bus stop in the area of ​​Winterwood Drive and Providence Drive in Greenwood on Aug. 25, 2022, when someone in a black hoodie approached him and shot him multiple times, in what Greenwood police believe shootings were targeted, prosecutors said.

Officials had said Stokes and Radford El lived a mile apart and described them as acquaintances. Stokes was new to the neighborhood and had only attended Clark-Pleasant Community Schools for four days before the shooting.

Radford El confessed to shooting Stokes. After speaking with Stokes’ parents after the shooting, investigators learned that he and his younger sibling had a problem with another teen over a dirt bike that had been stolen from Stokes several weeks before the shooting, according to an affidavit.

Radford El reportedly told investigators that he “blacked out for a second” before opening fire on Stokes. He also told investigators that he believed he committed the crime of manslaughter because he “shot him more times than necessary.” He then told police he shot Stokes and fired more shots when the teen turned to run away, the affidavit said.

He also allegedly told investigators that he knew it was wrong to shoot Stokes but did it anyway, according to the affidavit.

During Thursday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors reiterated the circumstances of the case. That included calling Greenwood police Lt. Adam Bernett Jr., one of the lead investigators, to testify about Stokes’ death and Radford El’s behavior during police interviews.

Among the points Bernett discussed was the number of shots Stokes had suffered, eight, including two to the back of the head. Kubacki later said that at least one of the shots appeared to have occurred after Stokes was already on the ground.

Kubacki later played recorded phone calls made by Radford El from the Johnson County Jail. In the first call in September 2022, Radford El was asked if he had shot Stokes and was told to breathe heavily if he did. He did it, said Kubacki.

The second call came in September of this year, and during the call, Radford El laughed about the situation and described it as a lesson that children should learn.

Later in the hearing, Tiera Ervin, Stokes’ mother, called Radford El a coward for his actions – something she would continue to do in her victim impact statement. She described her son as a young man with ambition; He worked two jobs and ran his own lawn care business, she said.

“You have brought pain and misery to our family,” Ervin said.

Her statement left family members, who brought a life-size cardboard cutout of Stokes, teary-eyed. She later said her son’s death left her feeling empty.

Radford El was briefly questioned in court by his attorney, Andrew Eggers, who ultimately argued for the minimum sentence, citing Radford El’s age and lack of criminal history as mitigating factors.

Radford El spoke about his difficult upbringing and past drug use. He also brought up his father, who was convicted of murder and died of cancer six months before the 2022 shooting.

Several of Radford El’s relatives also testified in court about his upbringing and character. Many said it was out of character for him to behave this way, but some of those who testified were not as close to him at the time of the shooting as they had been before. Several also expressed condolences and apologies to Stokes’ family.

Radford El himself later apologized to Stokes’ family in a statement in court that Eggers read on his behalf, saying, among other things, that he had caused pain and stress to a family that didn’t deserve it. He also talked about how he wanted to get out of prison differently.

But Kubacki questioned the timing of Radford El’s apology, saying it was the first time he had apologized for the incident. He also described this as a common tactic used in sentencing once the seriousness of the situation sets in.

Kubacki also described the circumstances of the shooting as “foolish” because it involved a stolen dirt bike. He also said Radford El lied about what he did to police and appeared to distance himself from the incident, saying, among other things, that it was manslaughter and not murder. He said he doesn’t believe rehabilitation efforts are possible for Radford El.

He also highlighted a mantra that Stokes’ family began saying after Stokes’ death: “Forever 16 – the age he was kidnapped.”

Radford El’s actions were “vicious, vile and despicable” and he deserved to serve the full 55-year sentence, Kubacki said.

Eggers said Radford El was remorseful, citing his tears and occasional whispers during parts of the sentencing. He said Radford El also had a lack of knowledge of the system due to his age, citing the “manslaughter, not murder” comments as an example.

Radford El asked for a chance to rehabilitate himself by potentially having his sentence modified 20 years later, Eggers said. Eggers said he needed a chance to show the court that he could change something.

“He needs help. He has to realize that his actions have consequences,” Eggers said.

Before handing down the sentence, Cummins told the families of Radford El and Stokes that they probably wouldn’t like what he was about to say.

“There’s no punishment I could give him that would be big enough for you,” Cummins told Stokes’ family.

While Radford El accepted responsibility by pleading guilty, Cummins was not yet convinced that he was truly remorseful. He also took into account the number of shots, the fact that the shooting occurred near children, including Stokes’ younger brother, and Radford El’s prior drug use before handing down his sentence.

Cummins told Radford El’s family that he was not condemning him as a person, but was only looking at his actions that day in 2022. He also addressed Eggers’ request for a change, saying Radford El could request a change if he wanted, but Cummins doesn’t have a say and it would probably take longer than 20 years before he would be able to do so.