A Grandview man charged in the 2022 fatal shooting of an Olathe teenager was found guilty by a Johnson County jury on Friday.
Deon Eugene Austin, 19, was found guilty of first-degree murder and aggravated assault for his role in the death of 16-year-old Jammaal Blacknoll Jr., the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Although Austin was a minor when he was arrested, a Johnson County judge ruled in 2023 that Austin would be tried as an adult.
Blacknoll was shot outside the Silverwood Apartments in Mission, Kansas on April 10, 2022.
Mission Police officers found Blacknoll dead when they responded to the shooting in the parking lot of the apartments at about 8:50 p.m., The Star reported in 2022. A 13-year-old girl was also shot but survived her injuries.
Blacknoll and the girl, who were not related, were visiting a mutual family friend at the time of the shooting, Mission Police Capt. Dan Madden told The Star in 2022.
Because the Mission Police Department was so small, the shooting was investigated by the Metro Squad, a cooperative effort of officers from other police departments in the Kansas City metro area.
Blacknoll was known to some as Jamal Pratt, taking the name of his stepfather Nathan Pratt II, according to an obituary shared online. Blacknoll was primarily raised by Pratt and mother Caroline Doyle, spending nearly a decade of his life in Denver with Pratt, Doyle and his siblings.
According to the obituary, Blacknoll discovered his love of sports while living in Denver. When his family moved from Denver to Olathe, Pratt joined the football team at Olathe North High School and played on the varsity team as a freshman.
Blacknoll is survived by nine siblings. After his death, friends wrote online that Blacknoll spoke excitedly and often about his future, particularly his plans to attend university.
“Jamal was the joy of his family,” the obituary reads, “and lit up every room he entered.”
Austin previously attended Grandview High School and was unemployed when he was arrested, according to court records. He was arrested on Oct. 17, 2022, and held on $1 million bail. He pleaded not guilty to both charges before appearing before a jury.
Austin is scheduled to appear in Johnson County District Court at 3 p.m. on Sept. 26 for a sentencing hearing. Under Kansas law, he could face up to life in prison.
