SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The jury trial began Monday for two of the young men charged in the 2016 shooting death of an Elk Grove teenager.
Deonte Whiteside, 17, was shot in front of his Elk Grove home in June 2016. The night after he was shot, a teenage girl was shot at a park in Elk Grove. She survived, and Sacramento Police confirmed the two shootings were related.
A group of six young men was charged between the two crimes.
Danqwail Jones and Edward Lewis were in court for their trial Monday.
Jones faces a count of murder, another count of attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit a crime.
Lewis faces a charge of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit a crime.
The four other men charged in these related crimes are Elijah Watts, Daniel Carter, Jeremiah Hankins and Jordan Asberry.
Whiteside's mother Lugenia Whiteside-Alston tells ABC10 that on June 23, 2016, her son was lured outside, thinking he was meeting up with a girl he had been talking with on Snapchat. When he stepped out of his house, he was shot and killed.
Whiteside-Alston spoke with ABC10 outside Sacramento County Superior Court on Monday. She said she wants justice for her son and encourages parents to monitor what their kids do on social media.
"It's been hell for me. Sometimes I feel like I died on June 23, 2016 with my son. I have a daughter. I know I have to keep focused for her,” Whiteside-Alston said. “We just want justice, and I want (parents) to be aware of things that are transpiring out here with these kids. Pay more attention to your kids, listen a little more. Check into things a little bit more.”
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