{"id":276736,"date":"2026-05-19T15:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/276736\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T15:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T15:37:06","slug":"fight-erupts-after-fort-pierce-mlk-day-shooting-gunman-is-sentenced-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/276736\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight erupts after Fort Pierce MLK Day shooting gunman is sentenced to life"},"content":{"rendered":"

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A man convicted<\/a> in connection with the deadly 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Day shooting<\/a> in Fort Pierce received his sentence on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n

Kemmye Parson, 31, appeared in a St. Lucie County courtroom on May 19, where a judge sentenced him to two concurrent life sentences, plus an additional 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n

According to court records, Parson received:<\/p>\n

Life in prison on multiple counts, including a mandatory minimum term attached to one of those life sentencesA separate 15-year sentence, which includes a 3-year mandatory minimumAll major sentences will run concurrently<\/p>\n

Parson was also credited with 1,160 days of time served since his 2023 arrest.<\/p>\n

He was found guilty by a jury in February on charges including murder, attempted murder, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon for his role in the mass shooting at Ilous Ellis Park.<\/p>\n

Convicted gunman in deadly Fort Pierce MLK Day shooting set for sentencing. CBS12’s<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The violence erupted on January 16, 2023, during a crowded MLK Day celebration. Investigators said a dispute between groups escalated into a fight, which then turned into gunfire in a park filled with families and children.<\/p>\n

Twenty-nine-year-old Nikkitia Bryant<\/a> was killed after being caught in the crossfire while attending the event with her daughter. Several others were also injured.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A man has been found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges in a 2023 MLK Day shooting in Fort Pierce that killed a young mother. On Friday, Brian Workman, an assistant state attorney, confirmed that Kemmye Parson was convicted of first-degree murder with a firearm, attempted second-degree murder, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the killing of Nikkitia Bryant. (Courtesy of Nikkiti White\/St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office)<\/p>\n

See also: PSL Thanksgiving crash investigation ends in DUI manslaughter arrest<\/a><\/p>\n

Tensions remained high in the courtroom during Tuesday\u2019s sentencing hearing. A fight broke out between members of the victim\u2019s family and the defendant\u2019s family, prompting deputies to intervene and restore order.<\/p>\n

Parson has remained in custody since his arrest and will continue serving his sentence in state prison.<\/p>\n

Comment with Bubbles<\/p>\n

BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT<\/p>\n

Bryant\u2019s family has been present throughout the court process, seeking justice and closure more than three years after the shooting that shook the Fort Pierce<\/a> community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 A man convicted in connection with the deadly 2023 Martin Luther King…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276737,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[171,173,172],"class_list":["post-276736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie","tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","tag-port-st-lucie-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276736","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276736\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}