SORROW: Daryel Lettie, 14, drops a flower on his sister's casket, Sheronda Williams, 15, sister of Sherdavia and Daryel, stands next to him. (John Van Beekum/Miami Herald Staff)
A 'little flower' plucked too soon
By Peter Bailey
pbailey@MiamiHerald.com
Inside a coffin draped in pink and white roses, Sherdavia Jenkins lay with pursed lips, her signature pigtails caressing her cheeks.
Peaceful.
Up above, from a pulpit fueled by pain, a parade of politicians, preachers and parishioners echoed their disgust over her senseless killing.
A grieving crowd wailed in accord.
An elderly woman yelled: "Lord help us!" Another screamed, "Monsters!"
The sobbing relatives, angry neighbors and impassioned ministers - some 500 people in all - packed Liberty City's Joseph Caleb Center early Saturday morning for the funeral of 9-year old Sherdavia, who was killed last Saturday by a stray bullet while she played outside her Liberty City home in the Pork 'n' Beans projects.
Her death unleashed a massive manhunt by Miami police, who have arrested one suspect, Leroy "Yellow Man" LaRose, who has been charged with felony murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Investigators are still searching for another man, Damon Darling, 21, known on the streets as "Red Rock." He is wanted for questioning, and police think he may be trying to flee to Jacksonville.
Inside the vast auditorium, where Sherdavia lay in a white coffin, those gathered mourned a beautiful life lost and demanded justice for those who stole it from her.
Dennis Jackson, pastor of New Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, challenged the community to stop those from "plucking our little flowers away from us."
As he spoke, Sherrone Jenkins, the girl's mother, sat motionless, while her husband, David, nodded in agreement. They were seated two rows from their daughter's coffin.
He then sighed: "Don't worry. She got a free pass into glory."
Judging by Sherdavia's many accolades, glory seemed just a stone's throw away from the housing project where she was killed.
A gifted artist, she won awards in virtually every subject at Lillie C. Evans Elementary School.
She scored highest among students at the school on the math portion of the FCAT.
"It was truly a privilege to have Sherdavia at our school," lamented principal Reginald Johnson. "She was so well-liked and well-behaved."
State Rep. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall said she saw herself in Sherdavia.
"When I was 9, I played on the same porches in Liberty Square housing project," she sobbed.
Stanley Wilson, an elder of the Temple of the True Gospel Church, told the audience he remembers seeing Sherdavia run through the church pews where the family attends.
"I could see her now, just running around in circles," he said. "I've cried internally for seven days."
Then he paused, took off his glasses, and challenged the mourners.
"We have to be our brother's keeper!"
The words rippled through the pews, compelling everyone to focus on Sherdavia, whose dreams have been eternally deferred.
"We don't care anymore," sighed Wilson as he reflected on Sherdavia's violent death.
But hope peered through the morning's despair, as state Sen. Frederica Wilson announced that Sherdavia's 14-year-old brother Daryel, a ninth-grader at Northwestern Senior High School, would be awarded a full scholarship to college.
Standing on the stage next to Wilson, Daryel uttered no words.
Only tears.