Teen killer of star Broward high school football player is off to prison
Tamillia Johnson has longed for what could have been in the life of her nephew, the Deerfield Beach High School star football player who was gunned down almost three years ago.
“What could have been a bright future for a bright man who was loved and respected and sadly and selfishly taken, and we still don’t know why,” Johnson told a Broward judge Monday morning, speaking about her nephew, Rickey Ferguson Jr.
Keantae Vaughn, 17, pleaded guilty on Monday to the killing of Rickey, a 16-year-old who was shot in the head on Dec. 28, 2022, while he was on the football field at West Side Park in Deerfield Beach. Several of Rickey’s loved ones, who sat in court wearing white shirts that said “Justice 4 Rickey,” sobbed during the hearing.
READ MORE: Teen accepts plea deal in 2022 murder of a Deerfield Beach High football player
“A young life full of promise but unfortunately cut short by a senseless act of violence,” Broward Circuit Court Judge George Odom said while sentencing Vaughn.
Vaughn, who was wearing a gray plaid button up-shirt and was sandwiched by his attorneys, sat silent throughout the testimony, looking down and occasionally nodding his head. He was sentenced to 25 years in state prison due to a plea deal that lessened his charge to second-degree murder. He will receive credit for the almost three years he served in jail.
Vaughn was 14 when he killed the star player, a sophomore at Deerfield Beach High School, after an argument over a hat that he had taken from Rickey, prosecutor Kristine Bradley said in court. Vaughn was charged as an adult a month after the killing.
‘He didn’t deserve this’
Rickey’s father, Rickey Ferguson Sr., recounted how his world stopped the day he heard his son was shot. He detailed the trauma of seeing his son brain-dead in a hospital bed.
The family, he said, is often reminded of their loss, especially when getting on a plane or in the car for a road trip.
“RJ running to the window seat, that’s going to mess us up for life,” Ferguson Sr. said.
Rickey was the life of the party — and was looking forward to attending prom at the time he was murdered, his mother, Latasha Ferguson, said in a letter read aloud by a victim advocate. In addition to football, Rickey played soccer and volleyball and ran track.
“I’ve seen the change and growth in my son. He was becoming a young man.... Life after losing my son has been difficult. Emotionally, physically and mentally, I am tired.”
Ferguson said Vaughn “took away half of my heart and soul” and was left to pick up the pieces so she could raise Rickey’s younger brother.
“I’ll never see him have his own kids or get married. Rickey wasn’t a bad child. I raised him with love and respect,” she said. “I hope in your 25-year prison sentence you think [about] why you killed my son.”
Michelle Beckford, the sister of Rickey’s father and Rickey’s aunt, also faced Vaughn. “I want you to know that you’ve made our life a living hell,” she said. “I want you to know that Rickey was full of life, he was full of light.... He didn’t deserve this.”
In between tears, another aunt, Kendra LaFrance, recounted how her heart shattered the day Rickey was murdered.
“He never finished what he started, high school, college, his dreams, his passions, his goals...” she said.
Vaughn declined to speak to Rickey’s family when the judge granted him the opportunity to do so.
Miami Herald staff writer Devoun Cetoute contributed to this report.