Gunned-Down Son's family mulls man's sentencing for new crime

FLANDERS, N.Y. — It was the moment Demetri Hampton's devastated family had been waiting for since 2013, when the 21-year-old college student was shot and killed during a violent home invasion in Flanders — the man charged in his death was sentenced last week to 25 years to life for his role in another crime.

Last week, Messiah Booker, a former “violent felon” from Riverhead, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for his role in a May 2022 shooting that took place while on parole from prison on a separate charge, the Suffolk. County Attorney Ray Tierney said.

Before the incident, Booker had five felony convictions, two of which were violent felonies, Tierney said. Specifically, Booker was convicted in 2017 of second-degree attempted burglary, a Class D violent felony, for his role in a 2013 home invasion burglary that left Hampton dead, the DA said.

On Jan. 27, 2013, police responded to 200 Priscilla Avenue in Flanders after a 911 caller reported armed men breaking into the home and shooting the young man, a Riverhead High School graduate, according to Suffolk County police.

When police arrived, they found Hampton with a gunshot wound to his chest, according to police. Hampton was pronounced dead at the hospital.

“They took my little brother for no reason,” Hampton's sister Jennifer Nicole Davis told Patch in 2013. “They took my baby.”

Booker shot and killed Hampton, 21, during the 2013 home invasion, the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office charged at the time. Booker was initially charged with second-degree murder and first-degree burglary, but pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary in 2017 and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Booker was released on probation in 2019 and was still on parole for that conviction at the time of the new incident, Tierney said.

Although Booker's sentence last week was unrelated to the crime that claimed her brother's life, Jennifer Nicole Davis said for her family — there was some sense of closure, of justice.

“We're glad to see him behind bars,” Davis told Pats. “He doesn't deserve to be on the street with the rest of humanity. He should have stayed behind bars – but we're glad he's off the street and that he can't hurt anyone else's family.”

Despite the years that have passed, the pain of missing her brother is eternal, Davis said.

Although her family has moved — she lives in North Carolina, her parents and brother in Georgia — the life they lived with Demitri is always far away.

When asked about Booker's sentencing, Davis said, “It helps, a little bit. But nothing can bring back a loved one.”

Despite the pain, Davis said she and her family have worked to find peace. “We are happy and moving forward,” he said. they know it's what he would want.

However, she said: “It's a bit lonely. You always miss a brother. You never get over it. You always think about him.”

Davis has her brother's initials tattooed on her arm, a constant reminder of all she has lost. “You just learn to take it day by day, but it never goes away.”

Time passed, memories were made, he said. “He's got nieces and nephews now, new cousins, so many things he's missing. We miss him so much.”

Her brother would have been 31 this year, Davis said. Reflecting on Dimitris, she said: “He was amazing. He was a character, one of the funniest family members we had. It was a joy to be with him on holiday, I just enjoyed his time and his presence. He was a good boy.”

The two were inseparable, Davis said — and a part of her brother still lives inside her. “He was just like me. We liked to joke around and have a good time. I still joke around and have a good time.”

They even looked a little alike, she remembered, the pain in her voice. “But by now I'm sure he would have a beard, or a mustache and be taller than me… I just miss him. I keep him in my mind and in my heart.”

For Demitri's parents, Juanita and Theodore Trent, losing a child was unimaginable, Davis said.

“My mom is an amazing woman,” he said. “To this day, she will make sure to do something in her son's name, to honor and salute her son, in whatever state he lives in.”

Dimitris, she said, was her mother's baby, the youngest. “I don't think he'll ever stop missing her. But she's a God-fearing woman, so she handles it better than us. We all try to model her; she and my dad are both great.”

If she could speak to her brother just once, Davis said she would speak from her heart. “I would tell him that I love him and that I wish he was here, enjoying life like the rest of us. I wish he could see the weddings, the parties, the children. I wish I could have seen him grow up. He could have he was a father—we'll never know.'

He added: “He had so much life ahead of him.”

Dimitris, he said, was the baby. “It was me, my brother Jamal and him,” he said. “We certainly lost the baby of our family. He didn't deserve what happened to him.”

Demitri was a student at Suffolk County Community College, she told Patch in an earlier interview. “He was very motivated to let kids know if he could do it, so could everyone else. He wanted to spread awareness about college admissions.” Her brother loved sports, especially football and basketball.

Despite his dreams of a bright future, Hampton's life ended one bitterly cold night when he died at the hands of gunmen who invaded the Flanders residence. “Everything was cut short,” Davis said. “I miss my brother very much. He was a beautiful young man with a lot of love and joy in his heart. He loved his family and friends and will forever be our hero. Dimitris will live forever in all of us.”