Sentences for Lakewood drive-by shootings send former Foss basketball star, 3 others to prison

One had been playing basketball for Boise State University.

The other three had finished high school or gotten GEDs.

And in one night the four were arrested for drive-by shootings that have sent each to prison for a decade or longer.

Pierce County prosecutors said the group fired shots at another vehicle outside a Lakewood apartment complex Aug. 19, 2015, then came back a few hours later and fired again.

No one was hit, but, according to charging papers, a bullet hole through the headrest of the other car showed it was a close call.

The last to be sentenced was 22-year-old Javontae Hughes, who got 10 years Thursday from retired Superior Court Judge Thomas Felnagle, who was filling in on a temporary basis

Hughes pleaded guilty to two counts of drive-by shooting, nine counts of second degree assault and one count of unlawful gun possession.

Defense attorney Michael Stewart said that just before the shootings Hughes had finished a shift at a restaurant where he worked.

“Unfortunately, this is an incident that involved back and forth between rival gang members,” Stewart said.

Superior Court Judge Bryan Chushcoff sentenced the other three last month after they pled guilty to similar charges.

Boise State guard Dezmyn Trent was sentenced to 14 years, six months in prison.

The 22-year-old was a Foss High School basketball star and played two seasons for Boise State before he was dismissed from the team after his arrest.

Nickolas Wiley, 22, and Javon Hughes Morrison, 21, were both sentenced to 15 years.

A former employer of Hughes Morrison wrote the court that he was reliable, and a former teacher said he had been bright and inquisitive in class.

Hughes Morrison wrote the court to say that before he was arrested he had been working at a warehouse, where he was learning to operate a forklift.

“Death and jail are two things that scare me, and for my life to be abruptly changed and my freedom taken from me is far and beyond devastating,” he wrote.

“I promised my mother that I would not be one of them guys that throw away their lives for nothing.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 5:45 PM with the headline "Sentences for Lakewood drive-by shootings send former Foss basketball star, 3 others to prison."