ORLANDO, Fla. – The man convicted in the shooting death of Tavyiah King, the 16-year-old niece of Orlando City Commissioner Regina Hill, received a life sentence Wednesday.
The judge handed down Anthony Barnes’ sentence nearly two months after the 19-year-old was convicted on a charge of first-degree murder with a firearm on July 17.
The shooting occurred on May 2, 2021, near a Wawa gas station along John Young Parkway. Orlando police responded to the gas station around 3 a.m. that day after receiving reports of a shooting. King was located about a half mile away in the 3600 block of Silver Star Road.
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King was a sophomore at Evans High School and had turned 16 that January. Her mother, Alisha Rodriguez, said King was leaving a party with friends and riding in a car when the shooting happened. Rodriguez said her daughter was not the intended target.
Rodriquez was in court for Barnes’ sentencing hearing Wednesday. There, she said she forgave him.
Barnes’ father also spoke, saying he was sorry he and Rodriquez both had to lose a child in the situation.
Barnes was sentenced to life in prison, with 30 days to appeal and entitled to an automatic review in 25 years.
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Barnes, who was 17 at the time, was arrested in Las Vegas in June 2021. He was the second person arrested after King’s death, the first being Jacarious Simpson.
Now 20 years old, Simpson was arrested in late May 2021 when he was 18. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a firearm in July 2022.
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