Mother ‘destroyed’ by fatal shooting of son, asks judge to impose ‘strict’ sentence

CEDAR RAPIDS — A mother said Tuesday she will never forget the day her 16-year-old son walked out the door and never came back to her.

“I heard every shot while crawling on the floor to reach and protect my 3-year-old daughter in my home,” Kiana McCune said during the sentencing of Devin Gardner, now 19, of Maquoketa, one of four teens convicted in the fatal shooting of her son, Michael McCune on Feb. 18, 2023. “Then, I ran out the door to check on my son.”

Her son was fatally shot eight times in the entryway of the apartment building where his mother lived. The shooting happened a few minutes after he left the apartment.

That day was the “worst day of my life,” Kiana McCune, tearing up, said. She died with him that day, she said. Losing her son has made her feel vulnerable and scared to face life.

“I have been destroyed by the emotional and psychological trauma of losing my son, and would not wish it upon my worst enemy,” she said.

Michael was “sweet, loving, funny and a “mama’s boy,” the mother said. His smile would light up the room and instantly make anybody smile. He had just received his driving permit and was set to graduate high school in 2024. He had aspirations of being a clothing designer and wanted to “have lots of kids.”

She asked judge for a “strict” sentence that might impact the decisions and actions of others.

Keonte McCune, Michael’s brother, said his life also hasn’t been the same and he has been depressed trying to move on without his brother. He doesn’t feel like things will get better because he continues to miss Michael every day.

Michael was a protector and “I feel like I wasn’t there to protect him,” Keonte said. He also was “passionate and loving, always caring a lot for his family.”

Keonte asked the judge to give Gardner the “maximum time” possible because he stole a car and knew he was going along to take another person’s life.

“He is just as guilty as the rest (other teens convicted),” Keonte said.

Gardner pleaded in January to first-degree theft and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony, both felonies, and accessory after the fact, an aggravated misdemeanor. He also pleaded at that time to first-degree theft in another incident, in which he also stole a vehicle on Feb. 27, 2023, after McCune’s fatal shooting and before he was arrested.

Gardner, during the plea, admitted he knew the group of teens planned to harm or seriously injure McCune that day. He also admitted to driving the group, in the vehicle he stole earlier that day, to the Tan Tara Apartments, 1640 F Ave. NW in Cedar Rapids, where they planned to meet McCune.

Gardner also said he drove the stolen vehicle out of Linn County to help conceal their involvement in the crime.

Sixth Judicial District Senior Judge Paul Miller sentenced Gardner to 32 years in prison, running all the convictions consecutively, as the prosecution recommended. There is no mandatory minimum he must serve before being eligible for parole.

Assistant Linn County Attorney Ryan Decker said Gardner made the decision with Tramontez Lockett to steal the vehicle and drive to the apartments where McCune was staying with his family. Gardner also was the getaway driver after the deadly shooting.

Gardner received the benefit of not being charged with first-degree murder because he was the first to provide a “truthful account” of what happened, which led to the others being convicted.

However, he then committed more offenses while on pretrial release, Decker noted. Gardner was charged in Jackson County with third-degree burglary and second-degree criminal mischief and was sentenced to 11 years, which will run consecutively to this sentence.

Gardner also has juvenile “violent” adjudications and was sent to the State Training School in Eldora, released in 2022, but then three months later got involved in McCune’s fatal shooting, Decker pointed out.

Brian Johnson, Gardner’s lawyer, said he thought 32 years was a “vastly excessive” sentence. Gardner was only 16 years old when he made the decision to join the teens in this crime. Johnson said Gardner has taken responsibility for his actions and told the truth. Johnson said he would leave it up to the court to decide the best sentence.

Gardner, during sentencing, declined to make a statement.

Judge Miler said Gardner does “bear responsibility” for what resulted in murder. He has been given several chances for rehabilitation and failed at those. Even after being charged in this case, he continued to commit crimes, which resulted in another conviction.

Fatal shooting

According to previous pleas in this case, Tramontez Lockett, then 17, of Cedar Rapids, started the deadly chain of events that day as he messaged McCune through Snapchat, court documents state.

Lockett knew McCune was on a home visit from the State Training School and arranged to pick him up at the Tan Tara Apartments. The group planned the attack on McCune based on rival gang affiliations and conflicts some had while in the State Training School, a facility for delinquent boys, in Eldora.

Lockett and Gardner were identified on video surveillance as stealing a Toyota RAV4 earlier in the day and picking up two others — Dante Irvin, 15 at the time, of Cedar Rapids, and Baynon, known as “BJ,” Berry, 16 at the time, of Marion — before going to the apartments.

They drove to the apartment building, and when they saw McCune, Irvin and Berry started shooting at him, according to previous court hearings in the case. One of them ran into the apartment building, continuing to shoot McCune at a close range.

Cedar Rapids police found McCune with eight gunshot wounds about 11:30 a.m. Feb. 18 inside the entryway of one of the apartment buildings. The fatal shot was to the top of his head, according to the complaint.

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