Gunned-Down Son's Family Reflects On Man's Sentencing For New Crime

FLANDERS, NY — It was the moment Demitri Hampton's broken-hearted family had been waiting for since 2013 when the 21-year-old college student was gunned down and killed during a brutal home invasion in Flanders — the man accused in connection with his death was sentenced last week to 25 years to life for his role in another crime.

Last week, Messiah Booker, a prior "violent felon" from Riverhead, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for his involvement in a May, 2022 shooting that took place while he was on parole release from prison on a separate charge, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Prior to the incident, Booker had five felony convictions, two of which were violent felonies, Tierney said. In particular, Booker was convicted in 2017 of second-degree attempted burglary, a Class D violent felony, for his role in a 2013 home-invasion burglary that left Hampton dead, the DA said.

On Jan. 27, 2013, police responded to 200 Priscilla Avenue in Flanders after a 911 caller reported that armed men had broken into the home and shot the young man, a Riverhead High School graduate, according to Suffolk County Police.

When police arrived, they found Hampton with a gunshot wound to his chest, according to police. Hampton was pronounced dead at the hospital.

"They took my little brother for no reason," Hampton's sister Jennifer Nicole Davis told Patch in 2013. "They took my little baby from me."

Booker shot and killed Hampton, 21, during the 2013 home invasion, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office accused at the time. Booker was initially charged with second degree murder and first degree burglary but pleaded guilty to second degree burglary in 2017 and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Booker was released to parole supervision in 2019 and was still on parole for that conviction at the time of the new incident, Tierney said.

Although Booker's sentence last week was not related to the crime that took her brother's life, Jennifer Nicole Davis said, for her family —there was some sense of closure, of justice.

"We're happy to see him behind bars," Davis told Patch. "He does not deserve to be on the street with the rest of humanity. He should have stayed behind bars in the first place — but we're happy that he's off the street, and that he can't hurt anyone else's family."

Despite the years that have passed, the ache of missing her brother is eternal, Davis said.

Although her family has relocated — she lives in North Carolina, her parents and brother, in Georgia — the life they led with Demitri is always a heartbeat away.

When asked about Booker's sentencing, Davis said: "It helps, a little bit. But nothing can bring a loved one back."

Despite the pain, Davis said she and her family have worked to find peace. "We're happy, and we're moving on," she said; they know it is what he would have wanted.

But still, she said: "It's a little lonely. You always miss a sibling. You never get over it. You always think about him."

Davis has her brother's initials tattooed on her hand, a constant reminder of all she's lost. "You just learn to take it day by day, but it never goes away."

Time has passed, memories have been made, she said. "He's got niece and nephews now, new cousins, so many things that he's missing out on. We miss him tremendously."

Her baby brother would be 31 years old this year, Davis said. Reflecting on Demitri, she said: "He was amazing. He was a character, one of the funniest family members we had. It was a pleasure being with him on the holidays, just enjoying his time and his presence. He was a good kid."

The two were inseparable, Davis said — and a part of her brother lives on in her, still. "He was just like me. We liked to crack jokes and have a good time. I still crack jokes and have good time."

They even used to look a bit alike, she remembered, the ache in her voice. "But by now I'm sure he would've had a beard, or a mustache, and been taller than I am. . . I just miss him. I keep him in my mind and in my heart."

For Demitri's parents, Juanita and Theodore Trent, the loss of a child has been unthinkable, Davis said.

"My mom is an amazing woman," she said. "To this day, she will make sure she does something n her son’s name, to honor and salute her son, whatever state she is living in."

Demitri, she said, was her mother's baby, her youngest. "I don't think she ever stops missing him. But she's a God-fearing woman, so she handles it better than the rest of us. We all try to model her; she and my dad are both wonderful."

If she were able to speak to her brother just one more time, Davis said she'd speak from her heart. "I would tell him that I love him and that I wish he were here, enjoying life like the rest of us. I wish he could see the weddings, the parties, the kids. I wish I could have seen him grow up. He could have been a father — we will never know."

She added: "He had so much life ahead."

Demitri, she said, was the baby. "It was me, my brother Jamal, and him," she said. "We definitely lost the baby of our family. He didn't deserve what happened to him."

Demitri was a student at Suffolk County Community College, she told Patch in a previous interview. "He was very motivated to let kids know if he could do it, everyone else could, too. He wanted to spread awareness about getting into college." Her brother loved sports, especially football and basketball.

Despite his dreams for a bright future, Hampton's life ended on a bitterly cold night when he died at the hands of the gunmen who burst into the Flanders residence. "Everything got cut short," Davis said. "I just really miss my brother. He was a beautiful young man with a lot of love and joy in his heart. He loved his family and his friends and he will forever be our hero. Demitri will forever live on in all of us."