RICHMOND — After a jury failed to decide whether a Bay Area man murdered his ex-girlfriend’s cousin, he accepted a plea deal that came with a 34-year prison term, records show.
Pierre Jackson, 26, pleaded no contest to second degree murder in the 2021 shooting death of 25-year-old Dejante Kennedy. The plea, on top of Jackson’s attempted murder conviction during his trial last year, resulted in a prison sentence of 34 years to life, records show.
Jackson was transferred to North Kern State Prison on Nov. 25, and remains housed there, record show.
On the night of March 31, 2021, Jackson broke into his ex-girlfriend’s apartment on the 4500 block of Appian Way in El Sobrante. He shot the woman and killed Kennedy during a confrontation. At Jackson’s trial, the defense argued he lacked the mental state to commit murder, due to his “uncontrollable rage,” and suggested that a voluntary manslaughter conviction would be more appropriate.
Jurors convicted Jackson of attempted murder but hung on the murder count. That made Jackson eligible for a lengthy prison term while still giving prosecutors the option to re-try him. He was scheduled to go back on trial in December but the plea deal negated that.