After A Tragic Home Invasion, The Suspects Burst Into Tears When The Judge Read His Verdict
By | July 21, 2022
Just a Teen
Teenagers are prone to making stupid mistakes that they'll end up regretting. Sometimes, the mistakes are minor and inconsequential. At other times, they're so grave, they change the trajectory of their lives and that of everyone else involved.
In this story, we follow the horrifying atrocities caused by two teenagers. Jacob Mouzon, age 17, and Drake Campbell, age 18, were charged with attempted murder and murder after robbing a resident in South Carolina.
Twisted Fate
Jacob and Drake probably did not imagine things to turn out this way. There must have been a point in their lives where they dreamed of becoming people with bright futures. However, it did not turn out that way because of a twisted fate… The two boys ended up
A New Person
Drake introduced Jacob to his older brother named Kenneth who was already facing trial for a crime committed in 2015. Kenneth was involved in a manslaughter case after shooting the victim to his death. With these kinds of people around the family, no wonder Drake and Jacob got involved in this kind of situation. The stakes were already against them.
Role Model
This is why impressionable youths need a good role model or mentor to guide them. If David and Jacob had better role models, they probably would have chosen a different path and so many problems would have been avoided.
Trying Something New
Being with Drake’s brother, the fate of Jacob and Drake went upside down– as curious teenagers, both of them, together with their other friends, wanted to try something new just like Kenneth did. They made a plan to rob someone's house. What could possibly go wrong?!
Someone’s House
Somewhere on the other side of town, Kadeem Johnson and his girlfriend were living in the house together. One day both of them went outside to have a date, just like any other normal couple. Little did they know that there was something terrible waiting to happen to them that night…
The Heist
As Drake and Jacob planned the heist with three other suspects, they entered someone’s house to rob. Luckily, there was no one home when they entered the place. During the heist, things got out of hand and a series of unbelievable events followed.
The Couple Went Home
By some of the worst luck possible, Kadeem and his girlfriend decided to go home after having an intimate date. Unknown to them, the wheels had already been set in motion for a catastrophic event that would change their lives. Just as they opened the door to their house someone dragged them inside with a gun pointed at them!
Catastrophic Event
The couple is shocked by what happened to them, and they never imagined that they would see their house looking terrible. Their property was all over the place and the entire house had been ransacked. What could the boys have possibly been looking for?
Target Locked
During the heist, the gang was creating a lot of noise. Since they were 5, they outnumbered the couple and thought they would be an easy target and decided to take advantage of them. Out of all the houses to be robbed, why did they even choose this couple as their target? What did they need that badly?
More Than Just a Heist
The robbers together with Drake and Jacob did not stop after ripping the entire house apart while looking for some valuables that they could take. They also took Kadeem’s girlfriend’s purse with money worth $3000. But things became violent as they forced Kadeem to kneel and duck-taped him. What happened next was no longer a heist. It was unforgivable.
Brutal Shot
As the gang scared the couple to the core, Kadeem’s girlfriend witnessed how Drake and his gang ruthlessly shot Kadeem in the head execution style with her bare eyes. Without a word, Kadeem fell to the ground, dead.
But they did not stop there, the gang was just getting started and planned to do more.
Stare to Scare
After murdering Kadeem, the robbers seemed to plan to do something with Kadeem’s girlfriend as they looked at her. Kadeem’s death already made the situation worse, and the boys decided to compound the problem.
Life at stake
They turned their attention to Kadeem's girlfriend and tried to brutally murder her in a more painful and worse manner than they did her boyfriend. The gang shot her in both hands as she screamed in pain. But they did not stop there. Kadeem's girlfriend was shot once more in her chest, making them believe she was dead. The gang took their car and fled as soon as they killed the couple without having second thoughts. Unknown to them, they had left something behind that would link them to the scene
Blood Bath
She was left dying and soaked in her own blood as the five men fled the scene. If they had known she survived the shot, they would have finished the job. She had already witnessed too much. Seeing your loved one killed in front of you is one of the worst things that could happen after spending a nice day together as soon as they got home. Thinking about the last moment you spent together and how your death would be. The actions of Drake and his gang were monstrous.
Speed Off
The gang was aware that they were seen by the couple. Since they shot Kadeem and his girlfriend to escape from having witnesses from their heist they fled thinking that it would be possible for them to not get caught. But little did they know things wouldn't go their way.
Uncertain Reason
Two days after the brutal murder and robbery the police in charge of the investigation were hoping on seeing a clear picture of the real motives of the murderers as they had clues and some evidence. But they soon discovered a clear message from the murderers. The fact that they took the money during the robbery is a sign that the gang anticipated the presence of money. But the problem was why did they end up killing the couple for over a couple of thousand bucks.
Track Them
The police tried to track Drake, Jacob, and their accomplices down. Searching teams and canine units were dispatched to hunt the prime suspects. Later on, a tip from a local citizen reached the police making it easier for them to track them down into the woods where they possibly thought Drake and Jacob were hiding. The walls were closing in on the daredevil teenagers.
Blood Trail
After the police got a tip, they immediately searched for Drake and Jacob in the woods. They got arrested as soon as they were found in the woods. After some time, Drake's brother, Kenneth, was also taken into custody as he was found on the other side of the woods. The trees could not cover Drake's brother from the authorities, and this time he couldn't run away as the police surrounded him.
Surrender
After the brutal murder and robbery of Kadeem and his girlfriend, everyone was wondering why Jacob and Drake did not put up a struggle to escape from the police as soon as they heard them. As soon as Drake and Jacob were arrested, they all had the same question in mind. Why Kadeem Johnsons? What was their real motive? Was it just a robbery gone wrong? Or was it to kill them? The murders were way too gruesome to not have an extra motivating factor. These are only a few of the questions they had in mind as they searched through the woods.
The Search
The police investigators said that the incident took a strange turn when Jacob, Drake, and his brother Kenneth were arrested after running in the woods. The suspects believed that if they went and ran into the woods, no one would find them since only a few people passed there. But little did they know someone saw them.
Arrested
As a result, the police were depending on cooperation from the community to help bring all of the perpetrators to book. The local community had been quickly praised by the police for their efforts and support in aiding them to catch the culprits, and they are hopeful that the two implicated teenagers would receive justice. On the other hand, Kadeem’s girlfriend survived the gunshots but was not able to recognize her attackers anymore.
Waiting for Trial
The police department is committed to bringing justice to Kadeem and his girlfriend, who reportedly healed after her close battle with death. Two years after the murder and tragic home invasion, the police finally received what it wanted. The accused were all in custody, waiting for their trial. Everyone hoped that the victims' families would find peace and comfort with the action of the law, not allowing the murder to go unresolved.
Appeal No More
The other offender’s family also tried to appeal to the judges in an effort to win their favor. The two families undoubtedly took every precaution to ensure that their children, siblings, and other relatives got a second chance. After all, everyone made mistakes. But with the severity of the charges, it seemed like this mistake was too much to come back from.
Wrong is Wrong
To convince the jury that Drake was not the hardened criminal the prosecution thought, his family tried to portray him as a lovable, kind, and decent child. But the trial and court adamantly disagreed. The prosecution argued before the judges that bail should not be granted due to the violent nature of the crime that took law enforcement to search for them for two days after the crime happened before they were apprehended and arrested.
The Consequence
Jacob's sister even spoke of his character, claiming that her brother was her best friend and that he only made a terrible decision of being included with the said group. She was not dismissing the severity of the situation and her brother’s acts but she still believed that her brother deserved a second chance. But was he still the kind person they knew?
No Tears Left to Cry
The last remaining hope of the two teens lay in the good grace of the judge. Thinking about the case, no one really figured out if the jury would turn in their favor or would impose a severe penalty. No one knew how the judge would respond as it was a really messy case. As the lads tried to keep calm, their emotions got the best of them as they awaited their final ruling. The regret and weight of the sentence for their grave actions finally dawned on them and they couldn't help it. The teenagers burst into tears.
The Ruling
Hearing people argue the case from an outsider's perspective allowed the boys to see how far they had fallen. However, it was probably too late for them. The judge had already decided their fate and their chances were not looking good. However, they hoped that there was still a little chance that the judge would rule in their favor even though their charges are severe. The teens would still receive a grave punishment since their actions were deeply unacceptable regardless of age. Because of the heavy allegations they were facing and the evidence against them, they were now being seen as a menace to society. Given the kids' past, it is reasonable to assume that their acts are a result of the behaviors they had been cultivating over time.
Unbailable
Police records also stated that Jacob and Drake were both directly involved in a break-in that turned into an execution-style of killing. After hearing what they did, you wouldn't certainly grant them bail. It is reasonable to think that no amount of good actions can help them and that their argument was so egregiously wrong that not even the most sympathetic jurors would be able to alter a thing.
The Verdict
As the judge read the verdict, Drake Campbell received 20 years of imprisonment while Jacob Mouzon received 40 years imprisonment. Hoping the victim's family might find peace with the time for them to heal. It's not unusual for even the most seasoned offenders to cry when justice is administered. Mouzon and Campbell aren't the first to experience gut-wrenching emotions as they receive sentences for their crimes, they certainly will not be the last.
