Share and Follow
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ke’mani Narda Hill, a 15-year-old, has been handed a 20-year prison sentence after pleading nolo contendere to several adult charges, including manslaughter with a firearm, armed robbery, shooting into a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a minor, and conspiracy to commit armed robbery.
Initial Arrest
On April 19, 2024, at approximately 11:42 a.m., officers from the Gainesville Police Department (GPD) arrived at the Tiger Bay Apartments at 484 SE 24th Dr., where they discovered Wilber Perez, a male victim, dead inside his car.
According to surveillance footage from the apartment complex, Perez was seen arriving and parking near Building 4. Moments later, his vehicle abruptly reversed, veered to the side, and collided with the leasing office.
A witness who was in the victim’s vehicle said the victim was on the phone with someone when he arrived at the complex; after he parked, several black juveniles walked up to the driver’s side window, then one of the juveniles, later identified as Zion James (14 at the time), snatched a bag of marijuana from the victim’s lap and ran. When the victim began backing out of the parking space, the witness said, another juvenile, later identified as Hill (13 at the time), stuck a gun through the window, and then the witness heard a gunshot. The victim drove away quickly and then crashed into the building, and the witness said she noticed at that time that the victim had been shot.
Read our original article about the investigation.
Read about Zion James’s 10-year prison sentence.
Hill was originally charged with first-degree murder (capital felony), armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and possession of a firearm by a minor.
Plea and sentence
Today, she entered a plea of nolo contendere to manslaughter with a firearm (a lesser included offense instead of first-degree murder) and the other four original offenses. According to the plea document, the maximum sentence for the charges is life in prison.
Judge Denise Ferrero sentenced Hill to three concurrent sentences of 20 years in prison, with credit for 685 days served, followed by 10 years of probation; Hill received an additional concurrent sentence of 15 years in prison for shooting into an occupied vehicle and was also sentenced to 364 days with credit for 364 days served for possession of a firearm by a minor. While gain time can be applied to the other sentences, the 20-year sentence for armed robbery is a minimum mandatory sentence.
Assistant State Attorneys Glenn Bryan and Dean Zipes led the prosecution team.