Family gets justice after gang shooting

Los Angeles resident Dion Lorenzo Miles, Jr., 19, loved wearing the  color red.
But the teens favorite color led to Miles death when  Miles jumped off a bus in the gang infested Wilmington area, stronghold  of the blue-wearing Crips. Two members of the gang, incensed that Miles  was dressed in the color of  their rival gang, the Bloods, gunned Miles  down on June 13, 2007.
Miles, a second year art student, was on his  way home from the campus of California State Long Beach where he had  gone to register for art classes.  He was dressed in a red striped  shirt, baseball cap and tennis shoes.  According to his parents and the  L.A. County Sheriffs Department detectives, Miles was not affiliated  with any gang.
As he disembarked from the bus in Wilmington, Crips  member Kevon Jones and another Crips member chased Miles as he ran  across the street. As the two men approached the teen, Jones asked him,  What set you from?
Witnesses said that Miles, a resident of  Baldwin Hills, replied, Im not from any set.  Im trying to get back  to the West side.
According to witnesses, Jones then aimed a .9 mm  gun at the right temple of the teens head and fired.  According to  police, Miles was dead before he hit the ground.
In the meantime,  the Miles family was frantically attempting to reach their son on his  cell phone.
It was not like him not to return calls, recalled Dion  Miles Sr.  Thats how we knew something was wrong.
It was six days  later when Miles mother, Robin Miles, received a phone call from the  coroner who informed her that her son was lying dead at the morgue. The  news of their sons death devastated his parents, stunned that their son  had become another statistic of senseless gang violence.
Besides  being a talented artist, his parents said that Dion liked music, cutting  hair and possessed a million dollar smile.  He was a young man full  of promise, said his parents, who said that their son announced shortly  before his death that he was going to be a father.  The child, Dion  Miles III, was born two months after Dions murder.
Its been a  tumultuous year for the Miles family, who reportedly have been  threatened by members of the Crips since the death of their son.  Due to  gang threats, the family was forced to relocate, acquire new jobs and  change their telephone number.
Two weeks after their sons murder,  sheriffs deputies and detectives captured Jones and charged him with  first degree murder.  Jones was ineligible for the death penalty because  he was still a juvenile–17 at the time he committed the crime.
On  Wednesday, March 12, the Miles family entered Compton Superior Court to  await the sentencing of their sons killer.  As Jones was ushered into  the courtroom, family members said that Jones boldly locked eyes with  the victims father, Dion Miles Sr. as he awaited the jurys verdict.
Robin  Miles tried to choke back the tears as she turned to Jones and read a  statement.
When you murdered Dion L. Miles Jr. in cold blood on June  13, 2007, you murdered my husbands namesake; you murdered a fathers  most favored son; you murdered a mothers child; you murdered a  father-to-be who had a fatherless son born just two months later also  named Dion L. Miles III; you murdered a brother; you murdered a young  man who was an art student; a young man who was a Federal Express  employee; you murdered a young man who loved God, his church, his  family, his unborn son; and you murdered a young man who loved life.
The  reading of the statement was interrupted when Dion Miles Sr. yelled  out, Do you hear what my wife is saying? and began sobbing. On the  verge of tears, Robin took time to collect herself before continuing  with her statement. Terrorist, you murdered a young man you had never  laid eyes upon until that day…you murdered a stranger.
After the  familys statement was read, the jury deliberated for two hours before  handing Judge John J. Cheroske their verdictguilty of first degree  murder. Cheroske sentenced Jones to 32 years.
You will be eligible  for parole after you do 28 years, and I doubt that you will be,  Cheroske told Jones after the verdict.
Shortly after her sons  murder, Robin Miles received a letter from LAPD Assistant Chief Earl  Paysinger expressing his condolences.  Rest assured that the men and  women of the Los Angeles Police Department are resolute in their pledge  to protect and serve the communities of Los Angeles as we attempt to  wend the fear and agony caused by gang crime, Paysinger stated.
City  Controller Laura Chick, who had long been aware that gang violence  remained one of the most persistent issues in the city, also sent  condolences to the Miles family. Chick sent word that her department had  released a report targeting gangs entitled Blueprint for a  Comprehensive Citywide Anti-Gang Strategy.
The report is calling  for a much stronger partnership between the city, the county, LAUSD and  the state, wrote Chick.  It is also calling for greater accountability  and a better allocation of funds to programs that are working.   Unfortunately, these things take time, but I am hopeful.
The Miles  family said they are grateful for the swift action of law enforcement  and the diligence of the Compton district attorneys office in the  capture and sentencing of their sons killer.
Were heartbroken that  we will not be able to see our son, Dion Jr, live out his hopes and  dreams, but we do have consolation that his life will continue through  his son, said Robin, who said that they will share in the  responsibility of raising Dion Miles III, who they say looks just like  his father.
We are not turning the page and we are trying to pick up  the pieces and get on with the job of living, said Robin. It is our  prayer that other families that have lost loved ones due to senseless  gang activity will find some kind of peace and consolation.