diSUNBURY — A 25-year-old Sunbury man found guilty two weeks ago by a jury of multiple charges relating to the May 19, 2022, shooting death of 30-year-old Kareem Jakes inside Penn Jersey Mart, 201 N. Fourth St., Sunbury, was sentenced Friday morning to seven to 15 years in state prison on felonies of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Northumberland County President Judge Paige Rosini imposed the sentence on Ajani Munsh-Ousha Uhuru, of 406 1/2 Farimount Ave. Uhuru was sentenced to six to 12 years in state prison for voluntary manslaughter and received a consecutive sentence of one to three years in state prison for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Rosini also imposed a concurrent prison sentence of one month to five years for a misdemeanor of possessing an instrument of crime.
Additional charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person were merged for sentencing purposes.
Uhuru, who is an inmate at Columbia County Prison in Bloomsburg, was given credit for 740 days served in prison.
Uhuru, who has no prior criminal record, was found not guilty by a jury of first- and third-degree murder May 16 at the conclusion of a two-day trial before Rosini.
The defendant was represented by attorney Robert Hoffa, of Williamsport, who requested the felony of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon to be merged with the other offenses. Northumberland County District Attorney Michael O’Donnell, who prosecuted the case, argued to have Uhuru sentenced on the charge rather than have it merge with the other offenses. O’Donnell cited case law during his argument.
After adjourning court for about 15 minutes to study the issue, Rosini ruled not to merge the charge.
Uhuru, his 56-year-old father, Ajani Munsho Uche Uhuru, of Sunbury, and a relative, Shovonne Moten, addressed the court prior to sentencing.
The defendant said he has lived in Sunbury for 20 years and has been employed since he was 16 years old. He said his young daughter means everything to him. Uhuru, who didn’t apologize in court for the shooting, asked Rosini for leniency.
His father said he taught his son to be respectful and take responsibility for his actions. “I didn’t teach him to be violent, but I taught him to protect himself,” he said.
The defendant’s father, who was charged by Sunbury police with three felony counts of hindering apprehension relating to the shooting, said he was sorry someone lost his life in the shooting. His criminal case is still pending in Northumberland County Court of Common Pleas.
Moten, who said she was raised in the same household as Uhuru, also offered her support for the defendant and requested the judge to show leniency when imposing sentence.
Rosini said she received approximately 10 letters of support for the defendant.
No victim impact statements were presented in court by the victim’s family or friends.
In his closing remarks to the court, Hoffa said, “This is an unfortunate situation. Mr. Uhuru, who acted in self-defense, just wants to get back to his daughter and family.”
When asked for comment following the sentencing, the defense attorney stated, “No one is going to be happy with this outcome.”
O’Donnell described Uhuru as a “violent individual” who is a danger to the public. The district attorney said, “He only feels remorse for himself and has a total disrespect for human life.”
O’Donnell accused the defendant of lying during the investigation and claimed he panicked during the shooting because he was scared. He said Uhuru deserves the same mercy he showed Jakes and urged Rosini to impose the maximum sentence under the law.
Uhuru was charged by then-Sunbury police Sgt. Travis Bremigen, who is now the police chief, with felonies of criminal homicide, voluntary manslaughter and aggravated assault (two counts), and misdemeanors of simple assault, possessing an instrument of crime and recklessly endangering another person.
Bremigen said Uhuru is accused of using a black handgun to shoot Jakes in the chest and upper body around 4:10 p.m., causing his death. The sergeant said the shooting occurred after an exchange of words and a brief altercation between the two men.
Uhuru fled the scene and was taken into custody four days later in Philadelphia by the U.S. Marshals Service.
