One of two men who gunned down a 16-year-old student-athlete in a Sanford apartment parking lot while kids played nearby has been convicted of first-degree premeditated murder.

JACKIE P. IRVING JR., 20, was sentenced to life in prison May 1 following a four-day jury trial presented by Seminole County prosecutors Scott Wood and Richard Babcock.

Doorbell video from the Stratford Pointe apartment complex on Oct. 22, 2023, showed Irving striding through the parking lot with a handgun then firing at the victim, Jamarcus Parker, from close range.

Witnesses said Irving was armed with a Ruger .40 caliber handgun with an extended magazine. Sanford Police investigators found 16 spent .40 caliber shell casings at the crime scene. At trial, prosecutors showed jurors that the location of those shell casings matched locations where Irving could be seen on video firing shots.  A police search of Irving’s home after the shooting found 16 .40 caliber cartridges missing from a box of 50.

“We hope this helps the family a little bit with closure,” Babcock said of Irving’s murder conviction and sentence. “Jamarcus was only 16 when he was killed. He had an almost perfect GPA, was an athlete – he was a truly innocent, great kid, and a source of light for his community.”

The second defendant in the fatal shooting, PRINCETON POSTELL, awaits trial on the same charge, first-degree premeditated murder.  Witnesses said Irving and Postell sought revenge on Parker over a rumor that he had trash-talked them and that a friend drove them to the scene.

Jurors heard a recorded phone call by Irving from the Seminole County jail in which he told a family member, “It’s done … I know I messed up. I can’t come back from what I have done.”