2 Brothers Plead Guilty & Go To Prison For Killing 2year Old Girl
- desselb27
- Mar 31, 2017
- 2 min read
Two brothers were sentenced Thursday to lengthy prison terms for the shooting death last year of a 2-year-old Detroit girl.
Makanzee Oldham was shot during an argument that started when Kool-Aid was allegedly poured onto a teenager’s prom dress.
Antoine Smelley, 33, was sentenced to eight to 20 years and Cleveland Smelley, 31, was given 30 to 60 years in connection with the May 25, 2016, shooting.
Both pleaded guilty March 17 to second-degree murder and weapons charges before they were scheduled to go to trial.
Cleveland Smelley, accused of firing the fatal shots, also pleaded guilty to felony firearm, his second offense, and was given an additional five-year sentence.
The toddler was shot as she sat in a vehicle with her father and other children on Fairmount on Detroit’s east side. The child died days later after being taken off life support. The car’s other occupants were unharmed.
Deonta Bennett, who allegedly gave Cleveland Smelley the gun used in the shooting, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and weapons charges Jan. 10 and was sentenced to 8-30 years behind bars, plus a mandatory two years for weapons violations.
Authorities allege the Smelleys were at a home on Fairmount when the beverage was poured over the young woman’s head and spilled onto her prom dress.
An argument erupted and Antoine Smelly pulled out a gun and threatened the girl’s friends.
Cleveland Smelley and Bennett then drove to the home, where the three men got into a fight with several others that ended with multiple shots being fired at the vehicle containing Makanzee.
In the days after the shooting, relatives of the Smelley brothers said the girl whose prom dress was ruined stole $1,000 from Antoine Smelley. The teen’s relatives allegedly “ambushed” and assaulted Antoine Smelley at his home after the alleged Kool-Aid incident, and Cleveland Smelley and Bennett drove over to Antoine Smelley’s house to protect him.
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