HENRICO COUNTY, Va. β A Virginia couple was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder of a man in a Whole Foods parking lot.
Julian Leshon McClenny, 30, was shot and killed outside the Short Pump store while on a walk with his girlfriend after his birthday dinner on Sept. 2, 2023.
Deonte Marquel Winston, 35, and Katoya Laquan Brown, 37, both of Crewe, Virginia, were each sentenced to serve 60 years in prison this week after they were previously convicted of first-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of murder and four counts of felony child neglect.
Birthday celebration turns deadly
McClenny and his girlfriend were in Short Pump that weekend celebrating McClenny's birthday and his girlfriend's parents' anniversary, according to evidence presented at trial.
The couple had dinner with family and, upon returning to their hotel, decided to take a walk.
As the couple walked through West Broad Village, they saw Winston "aggressively panhandling" and "loudly cursing" at a man in the Whole Foods parking lot, prosecutors said.
Winston then approached McClenny and his girlfriend in a "hostile manner."
McClenny told his girlfriend to keep walking and put himself between Winston and her.
Winston then pulled pulled out a gun, prosecutors said.
When McClenny tried to take the gun away, Winston shot at McClenny and both men fell to the ground.
Second shooter emerges
As the men struggled, Brown and the four children with whom she shared custody with Winston, watched from a minivan parked nearby.
Brown jumped out of her minivan, grabbed her own gun and fired at McClenny, striking him in the stomach, prosecutors said.
"McClenny was still moving, so Brown shot him again in the head," according to evidence presented at trial.
McClenny suffered life-threatening injuries and was pronounced dead on Sept. 5, 2023.
Winston and Brown drove off in their van and were later arrested.
Investigation leads to arrests
Henrico Police were able to identify the suspects and arrested the couple in Crewe, Virginia, a few days after the murder.
Henrico Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor said the jury's verdicts and the sentences send a message that the community will not tolerate such cruel, senseless and violent acts.
Remembering McClenny
After his death, friends of McClenny said it was hard to find the words to describe the loss.
"Anytime we needed him, he was always there," McClenny's former colleague, Shavon Mayo said.
McClenny, a father, loved sports, but his children were his world.
"He worked hard - had like two or three jobs at a time," Mayo said.
McClenny was originally from the Wakefield area, with family in Franklin and North Carolina.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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