Palmetto man gets prison for fatally shooting friend, judge rules
A judge sentenced a Palmetto man to more than a decade in prison for fatally shooting his 16-year-old friend while playing with a gun in 2022, according to prosecutors.
Circuit Judge Frederick Mercurio recently sentenced 19-year-old Damian Markist Anderson to 15 years in prison, followed by one year of community control and four years of probation, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Anderson previously pleaded no contest to manslaughter by culpable negligence with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a minor in the death of Damarion “Poohman” Smalls, court records show.
While manslaughter with a firearm is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison, Anderson’s attorney said prosecutors offered an open plea that limited any sentence to 20 years or less.
Palmetto man gets prison time for 2022 shooting
The shooting happened on July 19, 2022, at a home in the Sylvan Oaks neighborhood of Palmetto, according to a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrest report.
Deputies said Smalls was hanging out with Anderson and other teens, smoking marijuana, when Anderson pulled the trigger of a handgun he was holding and shot Smalls in the head. Smalls died two days later at HCA Florida Blake Hospital.
During Wednesday’s sentencing at the Manatee County Judicial Center, Smalls’ family gave emotional victim impact statements about the loss of the teenager, according to the State Attorney’s Office. The hearing ended with Mercurio issuing the 15-year sentence recommended by prosecutors.
“This was yet another avoidable teen death,” Assistant State Attorney Dickey Hough said in a written statement. “This is a clear example of why teens and marijuana do not go together, why teens and guns do not go together, and how tragedy happens when they all come together. It is our hope that the Court’s sentence provides some measure of justice for the victim’s family and serves as a warning to the community of these dangers.”
Defense argues shooting was accidental
Anderson was 15 at the time of the shooting. His attorney, Kiera Forlenza, argued that the case should not have been handled in adult court because it stemmed from negligence rather than malice. She described Smalls and Anderson as best friends who armed themselves out of fear after being shot at in their neighborhood.
“There was no malice, there was no fight, there was no anything. It was really an accident,” Forlenza previously told the Bradenton Herald.
According to an arrest report, Anderson initially told deputies that Smalls shot himself, but later admitted he pointed the gun and pulled the trigger. Detectives said he called the shooting an accident.
The sheriff’s office said deputies arrested Anderson within two hours of the July 19 shooting. He was first charged with attempted manslaughter, but the charge was upgraded after Smalls died, according to court records.
His case went through multiple mental health evaluations before he was ruled competent to stand trial. A jury trial was canceled after he entered his plea in August.
