The killing occurred back in August.
TERRELL, Texas — A former Terrell High School student has been sentenced to 42 years in prison for the shooting death of 17-year-old Damaria Jackson, which occurred about a mile from the school.
According to a press release from the Kaufman County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, on August 16, 2023, 16-year-old Darren Coleman, who had been expelled from Terrell High School just two days earlier, boarded the school bus carrying a loaded firearm. The release states that Coleman shot Jackson three times before fleeing the scene, leaving him dead on the sidewalk.
Coleman was certified by a juvenile court to stand trial as an adult. He was tried in the 86th District Court of Kaufman County, where the jury heard testimonies from law enforcement officers, DNA and ballistics experts, as well as Coleman’s cousin, to whom he confessed to the murder.
The attorney’s office reported that Coleman was convicted of murder and sentenced to 42 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division. During the sentencing phase, members of Jackson’s family addressed the court, expressing their profound grief over his loss.
“While nothing can bring back the life of an innocent young man, we hope this sentence provides some sense of closure for Damaria Jackson’s family,” said District Attorney Erleigh Wiley in the release. “My heart goes out to them during this difficult time of healing.”
