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SALT LAKE CITY — After nearly seven hours of deliberation, a jury found a 21-year-old man innocent of murder in the 2009 shooting of JoJo Brandstatt.
Jurors, however, did find Spencer Isaiah Cater guilty of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery, both first-degree felonies. But they also acquitted him of an additional count of aggravated kidnapping and four counts of aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies.
Cater's mother, Tracy Barnes, said she put her life in Georgia on hold to come to Utah to support her son after he was charged. She and Brandstatt's mother, Elka Fernandez, shared an emotional embrace after the verdict.
"I feel bad for JoJo's family," Barnes said after the verdict was read. "I'm glad the truth came out. ... We're not done yet."
Sentencing on the two guilty charges has been scheduled for Feb. 23.
Brandstatt's body was found on a West Valley City golf course on Feb. 6, 2009. Prosecutors say Brandstatt was shot three times in an "execution-style murder" for being a member of a rival gang. They said in closing arguments that it was Cater who urged then-14-year-old Antonie Hunter Farani to shoot.
It's not for me to judge or forgive. It's for me to move on and honor my son.
–Elka Fernandez, victim's mother
But defense attorneys for the man countered that Cater was not affiliated with a gang, barely knew Farani, Jeremiah Williamson or Shardise Malaga because he was new to the area and thought they were going to smoke marijuana the day of the shooting.
Four individuals total were charged in the death: Farani, 17, Malaga, 21, Williamson, 29 and Cater.
Malaga was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for five felonies, including manslaughter, two counts of kidnapping and unrelated charges of burglary and theft. Williamson pleaded guilty to murder, a first-degree felony, and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.
Farani was certified to face charges as an adult in 3rd District Court, but is appealing the decision to the Utah Court of Appeals.
Fernandez wept as she said she has no hatred for anyone involved and simply hoped that Cater and the others charged in her son's death feel remorse. She said she prayed for Cater's mother and for Cater during the trial.
"I've left this in God's hands and, obviously, there was a bigger plan," she said. "It's not for me to judge or forgive. It's for me to move on and honor my son."
She said her son was a "special person" to whom she has dedicated her life. She said she wished there were more of the things she loved about her son included in the court hearings. Still, she has felt peace in the years since his death.
"He's in a better place," she said, "whatever the verdict is."
Email:emorgan@ksl.com
