Sentencings of Anthony Jones and Aivery Banks in Jackson

JACKSON, MI -- An emotionally-charged morning in court Thursday ended with two Jackson County men being sentenced to at least 25 years in prison.

Anthony Jones III and Aivery Banks, both 19, are each set to spend 25 to 50 years in state prison on charges of second-degree murder and felony firearm, and first-degree murder and felony firearm, respectively. Both are convicted in the shooting death of 16-year-old Lataveon Cosey on Aug. 25, 2020.

RELATED: 2 teens accused of fatally shooting of 16-year-old in Jackson County headed to trial

The duo were sentenced back-to-back Sept. 8, with Banks being sentenced by Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson on his charges, which he pleaded guilty to in June. Jones was sentenced by visiting judge Edward Grant, who filled in for Wilson during Jones’ trial in July.

The courtroom was packed with friends and family members of both the defendants and the victim. In a tearful statement before Jones’ sentencing, Cosey’s grandmother Christine Hughes repeatedly asked why her grandson was killed.

“You hunted my grandson down on his own street -- he didn’t come looking for you,” Hughes said. “You should never, ever get to walk out of prison again. You should never get to enjoy your life with your family.”

Both defendants apologized to Cosey’s family before their sentences were handed down.

“I know I made a bad decision,” Banks said. “I know I took a son from you all. I don’t even know how that feels, but I’d like to show full remorse for what I did, and say that I’m truly sorry.”

Though Hugues said it does nothing to ease the pain of her family’s loss, she said she appreciated that Banks felt enough remorse to plead guilty

“I’m glad you took responsibility,” Hughes said. “(Jones’) trial was Hell -- that’s the worst thing I ever had to go through in my life.”

Jones and Banks’ sentences are to be served consecutively with additional sentences of two years in prison for felony firearm charges.

Testimony in court indicates the killing could have been gang-related, and the suspects had been searching for Cosey along with other members of a group he was affiliated with, officials said.

Police believe Jones acted as the leader of the group charged in Cosey’s murder, though it was a bullet fired by Banks that ended Cosey’s life, according to testimony.

“I think you’ll look back with a lot of remorse on the way you just threw away all of the things you could have enjoyed throughout your life -- and all the things the victim could have enjoyed,” Wilson said during Banks’ sentencing.

After both men were sentenced, a loud confrontation took place in the hallway outside the courtroom, though court officers were quickly able to de-escalate the situation.

Cosey was shot the morning of Aug. 25, 2020, near the intersection of Hallett Street and Longfellow Avenue in Blackman Township, then taken to Henry Ford Jackson Hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Banks and Jones were both 17 years old at the time of the shooting.

Jones targeted Cosey for the shooting, a 16-year-old witness previously testified. The 16-year-old was in an SUV with Banks, Jones and a second witness at the time of the shooting, the witness testified.

When police first talked to this witness, he told them he wasn’t there when the shooting happened, he testified. However, his mother knew he was lying and got him to cooperate with police, he said.

“I was just trying to deny that I was there,” the witness said, adding he stayed in the trunk of the SUV with his head down during the shooting. “It didn’t have nothing to do with me. I thought it was the right thing to do to, to tell the truth.”

A second witness, a 17-year-old male, testified he ducked down in his seat when the shooting started and when he looked up, Cosey was on the ground.

Banks fired two shots and Jones fired one, the 17-year-old testified.

A jammed gun was also found near Cosey, though there was no evidence that it had been successfully fired, officials said.

Cosey was a big brother to three siblings and a protector of his mother, his obituary said.

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