A Los Angeles man received a combined sentence of 50 years behind bars for a Gulfport shooting that killed one man and injured his sister in 2022.
Makhari Seven Gasaway pled guilty and was sentenced Friday on one count of second-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault, and one count of tampering with evidence.
Circuit Court Judge Lisa Dodson sentenced Gasaway to 50 years with 20 suspended, along with five years of reporting post-release supervision. Gasaway’s sentence for second-degree murder will be served day-for-day without the possibility of early release or parole.
The investigation into the murder began on June 21, 2022, when the Gulfport Police Department responded to a shooting that was reported from inside an apartment complex. Law enforcement discovered Brushawn McClam dead from two gunshot wounds. His sister, Kenish McClain, was also found wounded with three gunshot wounds.
McClain gave officers a description of the assailant, telling them a man in dark clothes entered their apartment around midnight and opened fire. The suspect, later identified as Gasaway, reportedly fled on his bicycle before being tracked down and captured by officers using video surveillance from more than 20 locations.
Gasaway admitted to investigators that the firearm recovered near the scene of the shooting was his and that he initially went to the apartment after meeting McClam on a dating website – apparently under the impression that he was meeting a woman. He apparently fired at McClam and his sister upon discovering he was “catfished,” along with deleting all the messages between him and McClam following the murder.
During the plea hearing, Judge Dodson stated, “Why didn’t you just walk out? I can’t fathom why you would react so viscerally as to shoot somebody. No one did anything to you. The family will suffer forever, and you will have this long sentence.”