Man convicted of shooting, killing rising football star Dylan Jenkins at Ackerman Park learns his fate
SARASOTA, Fla. - A little more than two years after standout athlete Dylan Jenkins was murdered at a Sarasota park during a party while he was home on Christmas break, his murderer is headed to prison.
A judge sentenced Nyquan Priester to 45 years in prison for shooting and killing Jenkins in December 2021.
According to deputies, a group of about 40–50 people, including 18-year-old Jenkins, who was a Riverview High School graduate, had gathered around 11 p.m. at Ackerman Park on Dec. 29, 2021.
Pictured: Dylan Jenkins
According to the state attorney’s office, Priester, who brought a gun to the party, told three of his friends as they were leaving that he was going to, "air this [expletive] out," in reference to the firearm.
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The SAO says he then fired six shots from the rear passenger seat, striking Jenkins in the back.
Jenkins died shortly thereafter from a single gunshot wound that went into his lung and aorta.
Courtesy: Sarasota County Sheriff's Office
About two weeks after the shooting, Kalvion Turner turned himself in to authorities. Law enforcement officers found Priester in New York about a month after the shooting. He was arrested and extradited to Sarasota.
Turner, who faced a charge of principal to second-degree murder, took a plea deal in exchange for testifying against Priester.
During Priester’s trial, Assistant State Attorney Karen Fraivillig said there was no question that Priester fired several shots into the large crowd at the park.
Nyquan Priester sits in a Sarasota County courtroom.
Deputies with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office also said Priester was the one who fired multiple shots from the backseat of a car, into the crowd.
Prosecutors said hours after the shooting, Priester dumped the gun he used in Sarasota Bay, which was recovered months after the crime by a dive team.
The three people who were in the car with Priester that night testified against him.
RELATED: Accused shooter stands trial in killing of standout Sarasota football player home from college
Priester was facing charges of shooting from a car, second-degree murder, and tampering with evidence.
Nyquan Priester enters a Sarasota courtroom.
In February, the jury found him guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. They also found him guilty of discharging a firearm from a vehicle within 1,000 feet of a person. They found him not guilty of tampering with evidence.
"Dylan Jenkins, the victim in this case, was a young scholar-athlete whose prowess on the track and the football field was matched by his kindness, intelligence, and good humor. He had just completed his first college semester in Michigan when he met with approximately 50 young friends and acquaintances at Ackerman Park to celebrate their Christmas break," Fraivillig commented. "Dylan was gunned down by the defendant in an act that was not only senseless and cowardly but showed a callous disregard for human life."
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