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Three co-defendants in Demitri Hampton murder case sentenced

Danielle Hall, one of three remaining co-defendants charged in the 2013 murder of Demitri Hampton, expressed remorse during her sentencing Wednesday and asked his family for forgiveness.

While no one from Mr. Hampton’s family attended the sentencing at Suffolk County Criminal Court before Judge John Collins, Ms. Hall, who prosecutors said drove one of the getaway cars, still offered her condolences.

“I never knew Demitri Hampton, but I want to offer my deepest condolences to his family,” she said reading from a piece of paper while her hands were cuffed behind her back. “I will never allow myself to forget this devastating part of my life, which caused [Mr. Hampton] to lose his life.

“I am now a better person than I was in 2013.”

Ms. Hall — along with co-defendants Corry Wallace and Michael Parrish — had faced second-degree murder charges. Instead, they all pleaded guilty to felony burglary charges Sept. 26.

Ms. Hall was sentenced Wednesday to serve up to three years in prison plus three years post-release supervision.

Mr. Wallace and Mr. Parrish said nothing at their sentencing Wednesday.

Mr. Wallace was sentenced to serve up to 8 years in prison since he also has another conviction stemming from a 2008 burglary. A man with a small child waved to him from the audience as he was led away in handcuffs.

Mr. Parrish was sentenced to serve up to five years in prison.

Mr. Wallace and Mr. Parrish also face five years of post-release supervision.

Mr. Hampton’s mother, Juanita Trent, said in a text message to the News-Review last month: “The law protects two types of people: lawyers (district attorneys) and criminals. My son’s soul is at peace and my family and I will never forget Demitri and the memories we all have of him.”


• Demitri Hampton remembered with bench rededication at SCCC

• Column: Will justice for Demitri Hampton ever be served?


The plea deals came five months after the prosecution’s botched case against Messiah Booker, the Brentwood man who allegedly pulled the trigger, following the revelation during trial that assistant district attorney Glenn Kurtzrock had failed to disclose hundreds of pages of evidence as required. Mr. Booker pleaded guilty in May to second-degree burglary. He was sentenced in June to five years in prison in what Judge Collins said at the time was a “travesty of justice.”

Shortly after Mr. Booker accepted the plea, Mr. Kurtzrock was fired. Janet Albertson, chief of the Suffolk DA homicide bureau, told the judge in the courtroom in May that prosecutors felt they were no longer able to prove the murder charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

The burglary that left 21-year-old Mr. Hampton dead occurred at 3 a.m. on Jan. 27, 2013. Mr. Hampton, a Riverhead High School graduate, had been playing video games in the living room of a Priscilla Avenue home in Flanders where he often stayed when armed intruders burst through the front door seeking drugs and money, according to testimony in the trial. He was shot and killed after attempting to stop the burglary.

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Photo caption: Michael Parrish, left, Danielle Hall and Corry Wallace pictured in 2015.