Basketball star's cousin sentenced to 9-20 years

Dressed in red prison scrubs and a long-sleeved white T-shirt, Jamar Evans, cousin of basketball standout Tyreke Evans, sat quietly in a Delaware County courtroom yesterday, waiting to hear just how long he would spend in prison for the murder of a Chester man.

In the rear of the large courtroom, two sheriff deputies and their canine companions also waited, watching for signs of trouble from the supporters gathered for Evans and the family of Marcus Reason, the 18-year-old victim. At a hearing in April, the families had exchanged heated words outside the courthouse and needed to be separated.

Members of both groups wept, some rocking back and forth, in the moments before Judge Ann A. Osborne sentenced Jamar Evans to nine to 20 years for murder and other weapons charges.

Jamar Evans also received eight years of probation. Osborne cautioned that if he violates parole, he could face up to 52 years of incarceration.

"The decision you made was wrong," Osborne said.

Jamar Evans was 16 in November 2007, when he pulled a gun and fired from the passenger side of a Ford Expedition driven by Tyreke Evans. Reason, a Chester Township resident, died after being shot in the chest. A month later, Jamar Evans turned himself in. Police suspect the incident might have been gang-related.

In January, Jamar Evans pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and weapons offenses.

At the time of the shooting, the two cousins and two friends had just finished watching a football game and were leaving a house in the 1500 block of Rainer Road in Chester Township. They were headed to eat fresh-baked pie at Tyreke Evans' home.

Tyreke Evans drove off immediately after the gunfire. He was not charged in the crime, and police said he cooperated in their investigation. Tomorrow, he is expected to be a first-round pick in the NBA draft.

"They never prosecuted Tyreke Evans, and they never prosecuted everyone else in that vehicle," said Dan Rivera, Reason's brother-in-law, who was upset after yesterday's hearing.

Reason was working two jobs - as a cook and for a limousine company - and had plans to go to school, his family said.

After the sentencing, Reason's family members quickly left the courthouse, many in tears.

"They have a moral victory. It's not right," Rivera said. He was upset that family and friends of Jamar Evans clapped and thanked Osborne after they learned of the sentence.

Reason's family had hoped for a longer jail term.

"His break should have been allowing to plea to third-degree murder," Rivera said. "He should be serving life in jail."