"I love and miss her so much. God is the final judge," the mother of Lashaun Rodgers said in court. Nearby, the woman whose child allegedly shot Rodgers dead could be seen wiping tears from her eyes.
The mother of a 10-year-old Florida girl who allegedly shot their neighbor dead wept in court as the family of the victim spoke at her sentencing hearing.
Lakrisha Isaac, 33, who was charged in connection with her neighbor's alleged murder, sat crying at the defense table as the mother and daughter of Lashaun Rodgers delivered their victim impact statements on Friday in an Orlando courtroom.
"I love and miss her so much. God is the final judge," Rodgers' mother, Laura Chambliss, said in court.
Chambliss then told the judge that while she could forgive Isaac and her daughter, she would never forget.
As Chambliss spoke, Isaac could be seen wiping tears from her eyes with a tissue.
Ashia Johnson, the victim’s daughter, also spoke and revealed for the first time that her mother had a relationship with the young girlbeforeo this fatal incident. “My smile, my real laugh, my daily routine is gone. So suddenly taken by someone for nothing, someone we gave food and popsicles to out of our home.”
She later said in her statement: “I always thought me and my mom would grow old together in her last days; I would take care of her. Time could never replace what was taken from us, my best friend, my protector, my reason to do better.”
Rodgers, 41, died on May 30, 2022, after Isaac's daughter allegedly shot the woman dead. The incident occurred during a fight between Rodgers and Isaac, according to a copy of the arrest affidavit obtained by Inside Edition Digital. Isaac handed her backpack to her daughter when the fight turned physical, and the young girl allegedly proceeded to remove a gun from the bag, load a bullet into the magazine and then shoot Rodgers, according to the affidavit.
Mother and daughter were both arrested after the incident. The status of the investigation into the daughter is unclear, and prosecutors and members of law enforcement have declined to comment on the case because the child is a minor.
Isaac meanwhile entered a plea of no contest to charges of manslaughter and culpable negligence by storing or leaving a loaded firearm within reach of a minor in a deal with prosecutors back in May.
In exchange for her plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of five years in prison, which is what the judge officially sentenced Isaac to in court on Friday.
That sentence did not sit well with the family members of the victim.
“What they’re telling us today is I can give my 9-year-old child a gun and tell him to kill everyone, and there will be nothing happening,” the victim's sister Sharetta Rodgers said to a WFTV reporter outside court.
Isaac received credit for 128 days served and was ordered to take a four-hour parenting class, according to Jason Gunn, the public information officer for the Ninth Judicial Circuit. Gunn also said that Isaac would be on probation for three years following her release from prison, undergo a substance abuse evaluation, and be required to follow a case plan created by the Department of Children and Families.
A lawyer for Isaac did not respond to a request for comment.
FATAL SHOOTING OF LASHAUN RODGERS
Officers with the Orlando Police Department arrived to find Rodgers lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head on the night of the shooting, according to the affidavit.
Officers performed CPR on Rodgers until paramedics arrived on the scene, at which point an ambulance rushed the victim to the hospital, according to the affidavit.
Rodgers succumbed to her injuries shortly after being admitted to the hospital in critical condition, officials said.
Rodgers' boyfriend told police that the two were "cooking outside on the grill in the rear of the building" that night to celebrate the long Memorial Day weekend, according to the affidavit,
He said that Isaac then approached Rodgers and "began an argument over a recent dispute between the two," according to the affidavit.
The argument continued to escalate and then turned physical when Isaac allegedly punched Rodgers, the boyfriend told police. Rodgers allegedly responded by punching Isaac as well, said the boyfriend.
According to the affidavit, Rodgers' boyfriend grabbed her and attempted to remove her from the situation, but "she turned around in an attempt to reengage Isaac."
This is when Isaac's 10-year-old daughter, who had been silently standing behind her mother for the duration of the argument, pointed a gun and allegedly shot Rodgers in the face, according to the affidavit.
"She shouldn't have hit my momma," the young girl yelled after loading and firing the fatal bullet, said the affidavit.
Rodgers' boyfriend told police that Isaac then took the gun from her daughter and pointed it at him. He said that he put his hands in the air and then watched as Isaac returned to her apartment with her daughter, according to the affidavit.
A second eyewitness identified in the affidavit as Ashley gave a similar account to that of Rodgers' boyfriend after watching the incident through the peephole of her apartment.
Ashley said she watched the two women arguing and then physically fighting each other, according to the affidavit. Then, Ashley said she watched Isaac's daughter start to rummage through her mother's backpack as "Isaac ... squared up for a fight and a few punches were exchanged."
Moments later, Ashley said she heard a gunshot followed by some saying: "You f****g with my momma," according to the affidavit. Ashley told police that she then watched Isaac take the gun from her daughter and point it at Rodgers' boyfriend.
The affidavit said that Ashley then watched as "Isaac walked back to her residence ... and showed no remorse or care for the injury sustained by Rodgers."
LAKRISHA ISAAC INTERROGATION
Once at the police station, Isaac invoked her Miranda Rights.
Inside Edition Digital obtained video from Isaac's interrogation from the State Attorney's Office, in which she tells police, "I ain't got nothing to say to y'all, at all. Don’t talk to my baby, either. She's underage. No reason to talk to her."
Investigators said that her daughter did talk, however, providing her version of the events that transpired that evening to police
The affidavit states that Isaac's daughter told police her mother was "drunk" and said she wanted to speak "women to women" with Rodgers.
Despite being told to stay in the apartment, Isaac's daughter followed her mother and stood behind her and alongside one of her mother's friends as the argument escalated, the affidavit says.
The daughter said that she observed someone holding an unknown object that they allegedly hit her mother with, according to the affidavit.
The affidavit states that the girl "believed Rodgers struck Isaac over the head with the object and cut Isaac's head."
The daughter also observed someone "hold a rock in her hand while in the argument with Isaac," according to the affidavit. Lakrisha denied having any cuts or injuries when asked by police, the affidavit alleges.
Then, the affidavit says that the daughter told police Rodgers made a threat to her and her family.
"[Isaac's daughter] heard Rodgers say she will bring her family to jump Isaac. When [Isaac's daughter] heard this, she said she became angry, due to having anger issues. [Isaac's daughter] pulled the firearm away from Isaac's friend and aimed it above Rodgers' head," says the affidavit. "[Isaac's daughter] stated she shot one time and saw Rodgers fall down."
The 10-year-old told police that at this point, Isaac's friend took the gun and fled from the scene.
LAKRISHA ISAAC CRIMINAL CHARGES
The daughter has been in a detention center for the past two years after a judge refused her request to be released with an ankle monitor shortly after her arrest.
The current status of her case is still unknown.
Isaac had been out on bond since October 2022. She had been scheduled to stand trial in August of last year before multiple delays pushed the start date of the proceedings to this May. Then, days before the trial was set to start, Isaac agreed to plead no contest.
Isaac's lawyer previously confirmed the terms of his client's plea deal with Inside Edition Digital.
"This is one of the most tragic cases I have seen in my 22-year career," State Attorney Monique Worrell said after Isaac's arrest. "This shooting is an unimaginable tragedy that defies easy solutions."
Her decision to accept that plea deal came after jurors in Michigan found James and Jennifer Crumbley, the parents of school shooter Ethan Crumbley, guilty of involuntary manslaughter in two separate criminal trials.
