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19 Year Old Sentenced to 126 Years for Drive-By Shooting Death

Danville resident Tremon Antonio Wimbush was sentenced to 126 years in prison by Danville Circuit Court Judge David Melesco for the fatal July 11 drive-by shooting of Latoya Hubbard and the injuring of another person. Melesco suspended 60 years, leaving Wimbush, who turns 20 next week, to serve 66 years in the penitentiary. A jury found Wimbush guilty last month of first-degree murder, malicious wounding and two felony weapons charges. 

During an emotional sentencing hearing Monday morning, Frederick Ferguson, who was shot in the leg during the incident at 251 Ross St., said he has nerve damage, a rod in his leg, limited mobility and “a mild case of paranoia,” as a result.

Bullet fragments remain in his leg after several surgeries and he had two chunks of lead removed in September, Ferguson said. The shooting, which shattered a bone in his leg, left him hospitalized for five days and unable to run or jump, he said.

Relatives gave emotional testimony, fondly recalling Hubbard.

Tyquan Hubbard, 9, said: “She was the most important person in my life.”

She taught Tyquan, who is diabetic, how to give himself insulin shots and they watched movies and played together, he said. Tyquan implored everyone to “stop the killing and shooting.”

Older son Clifton Hubbard, 10, said: “She was like more than a friend to me. She was like someone I could talk to and hang with.”

“I think about her all the time,” he said.

Latoya Hubbard’s mother Kimberly Henry recalled getting the phone call about her daughter.

“That was the most traumatizing moment of my life,” Henry said.

Henry had strong words for Wimbush.

“No punishment will be extensive enough for the way and reason he took my daughter’s life,” she said, adding that Latoya was her only daughter, whose brothers looked up to her for advice.

During closing statements, Wimbush’s defense attorney, Andrea C. Long, said Wimbush didn’t realize he was the one who shot Hubbard until later because others were also firing shots. Wimbush has a brand new baby and will have to grow up without a father, Long said.

She asked Melesco to give a sentence on the lower end of the spectrum so “there will be light at the end of the tunnel.” Even the minimum sentence will put Wimbush in prison longer than he has been alive so far, she said. A smaller sentence will give him something to look forward to in prison so he can make something of himself, she said. He has completed a job-training program, she said.

“He’s goal-oriented,” Long said. “He’s dedicated to family and friends.”

Fuller said Wimbush remorselessly shot at a group of people who were sitting on the porch minding their own business on a hot summer night.

“It was a dastardly act in every respect,” Fuller said. “His greatest remorse is being locked up.’

“This type of case was not made for rehabilitation,” Fuller added. “He’s had all the chances for rehabilitation.”

Just before handing down the sentence, Judge Melesco cited the Book of Isaiah, saying a child will lead us and that maybe Tyquan was right when he said to stop the killing and shooting.

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Mr. Stelly regularly appears in the courts of the City of Richmond, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, Goochland County, and Hanover County.

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