Man sentenced to 25 years in shooting of former Central High School athlete

A man convicted of multiple charges stemming from a fatal shooting last March in St. Paul learned his punishment Wednesday afternoon.

Twenty-year-old D’Angelo Semaj Dampier was sentenced to 25 years in prison in connection to the killing of 21-year-old Dion Lamarr Ford Jr. Dampier was accused of helping conceal the gun used to kill Ford.

As previously reported by 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS last October, a jury convicted Dampier of two counts of second-degree murder, one count of aiding an offender and two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms or ammunition. A sixth charge was dismissed at trial.

Those charges were filed following the death of Ford, who was fatally shot while walking to his vehicle after leaving a restaurant and supermarket near the intersection of Maryland Avenue and Arundel Street, according to court records.

Ford’s mother told the judge her son was trying not to be a statistic by excelling in the classroom and on the basketball court in college. Then, he was gunned down while picking up dinner from a store.

“He likes to rob people … this is apparently a game for him and his brother … this is a game they like to play, it gives them a sense of being bigger than they actually are,” Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Hassan Tahir said.

Prosecutors say Ford tried to defend himself, firing back with a gun that he had a permit to carry. Dampier didn’t address the day of the shooting when he had a chance to speak.

RELATED: 2nd man charged in killing of former Central High basketball star

Ford broke the 1,000-point mark while playing on the varsity basketball team at St. Paul’s Central High School before playing basketball in college, including Casper College in Wyoming. He had moved back to the Twin Cities to attend Augsburg University.

“You are a young person but for a lot of other things, things could have gone different for you, that night and before,” Ramsey County Judge Andrew Gordon told Dampier.

After court ended, Ford’s loved ones talked about how they continue to keep his spirit alive.

“It’s important to keep him going, he was a huge presence, he deserves to still be here,” Ford’s mother, Danita King, said.

“Justice was served, the individual who did this to Dion can’t do this to anyone else, that’s the important thing,” friend Erik Smiley added.

RELATED: Loved ones mourn death of former Central High School basketball star

Dampier was previously scheduled to be sentenced in early December but that was rescheduled, with the defense citing the need for assistance from the public defender’s office.

Meanwhile, 22-year-old Xavion Tyrece Bell, who is charged with two counts of second-degree murder in Ford’s death, has a motion hearing scheduled for Feb. 28 and a jury trial in July.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Reporter Eric Chaloux will be in the courtroom for the sentencing hearing and will have the latest during Wednesday night’s newscasts. Check back for updates.