As a 15-year-old, Daydrian Martin decided to settle a grudge from a fistfight with a classmate at William Fleming High School by ambushing the student as he walked home from school, firing 24 shots from a 9mm handgun.
As a 16-year-old, Martin was sentenced as an adult Monday by a 麻花视频 judge to 25 years in prison for the first-degree murder of Isaac Ikier Cunningham.
Isaac Ikier Cunningham
Cunningham, 15, was struck twice by the shots fired by Martin, who in April pleaded guilty to what prosecutors described as a brutal, premeditated murder on the afternoon of June 5, 2024.
In a text three months earlier, Martin discussed his plans to shoot Cunningham 鈥渃oming outta school鈥 as he 鈥渨alked across da street at dismissal,鈥 according to court papers filed by Assistant Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney Andrew Stephens.
Witnesses described seeing Martin chase Cunningham and gun him down near Ferncliff Avenue and Routt Road 鈥 close enough to William Fleming to raise concerns about school security.
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鈥淭his can鈥檛 happen again,鈥 Cunningham鈥檚 mother, Kierston Turner Cole, testified in 麻花视频 Circuit Court. 鈥淚 just don鈥檛 want to see this happen to anyone else.鈥
In asking for an active sentence of 30 years, Stephens implored Judge Chris Clemens to 鈥渃onsider the 1,900 other students鈥 who were at Fleming at the time of the 1 p.m. shooting.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not safe with this young man at liberty,鈥 he said.
Since summer 2022, 麻花视频 City Public Schools have implemented more than 25 additional safety measures, which include increasing the number of teachers, staff, counselors and school resource officers, a spokeswoman for the system said Monday.
Those and other measures, including launching an anonymous safety tip line and providing enhanced physical and mental health services, contributed to a nearly 8% decrease in the number of disciplinary incidents in the 2024-2025 school year, Claire Mitzel wrote in an email.
As for a fight between Martin and Cunningham in a William Fleming bathroom and hallway, Mitzel said she could not provide specific information about disciplinary actions in individual cases.
Turner Cole said her son was the victim of bullying. A cellphone video of the fight, taken by another student and played in court Monday, shows Cunningham repeatedly punching Martin and knocking him to the floor.
But the only real injuries Martin suffered were to his pride, Stephens said, arguing that the defendant spent nearly three months planning his retribution against Cunningham.
The prosecutor also said that within an hour of the shooting, Martin was trying online to trade his murder weapon for another pistol. When they searched his bedroom, police found the gun, a second firearm, hundreds of rounds of ammunition and multiple magazines for the Glock weapons.
Asked how he got the guns, Martin replied: 鈥淚n the usual way.鈥 Authorities say he either stole them or received them illegally as gifts.
Since his arrest, Martin has been charged with multiple assaults and other offenses at a juvenile detention center where he is being held. But under questioning from Stephens, he denied that he was a dangerous person.
Watching his testimony was a crowd of more than 40 friends and family members of Cunningham, some of them wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the words 鈥淚saac The Great.鈥
Turner Cole described her son as 鈥渢he rock of the family.鈥
鈥淗e was always there,鈥 she testified. 鈥淭here wasn鈥檛 anything that you could ask Isaac to do that wasn鈥檛 too big.鈥
Assistant Public Defender Tom Love urged Clemens to show mercy on his client, pointing to Martin鈥檚 troubled upbringing that included childhood trauma, substance abuse and mental health problems.
One of the most influential figures in his life was his stepfather, Travis Martin, a mentally troubled man who encouraged his son at an early age to purchase the marijuana that they both smoked.
On June 8, 2024 鈥 just three days after his stepson was charged with Cunningham鈥檚 death 鈥 Travis Martin was fatally shot by 麻花视频 police officers in what Commonwealth鈥檚 Attorney Donald Caldwell later ruled was a justified use of deadly force.
Martin threatened to kill police officers earlier in the day, according to Caldwell鈥檚 review. He was later spotted on Hershberger Road and fled from police in a vehicle chase that ended in a crash. Martin then jumped out of his car with a hatchet that he used to strike the driver鈥檚 side window of an occupied police car before he was shot by a second officer.
In his testimony Monday, Daydrian Martin said his stepfather, after seeing the video of his fight with Cunningham, threatened to kill the student himself unless Martin took care of things.
鈥淭his young man never had much of a chance in life,鈥 Love said. 鈥淗e was being trained to become a gangster.鈥
Although Martin admitted to being a member of the Villa Heights, or VH1, gang, there was no evidence presented in court of that playing a role in his dispute with Cunningham.
His mother, Latoya Banks, said she tried with no success to protect Daydrian from his stepfather鈥檚 abuse. She asked Clemens to consider his childhood trauma and give him another chance.
鈥淭he fact of the matter is that when he made these decisions, he was a child,鈥 Banks testified. 鈥淓verybody is trying to paint my child as a monster. He is not a monster.鈥
But the system labeled him as a serious juvenile offender, meaning that he will be held by the Department of Juvenile Justice for an indeterminate period of time, up until his 21st birthday. After that, he will be transferred to an adult prison to complete his 25-year sentence.
Shortly before Clemens pronounced his sentence of 40 years, with all but 25 suspended, Martin turned to apologize to his victim鈥檚 loved ones.
鈥淚 can only imagine your pain,鈥 he told them. 鈥淚 would not wish that pain on anyone.鈥
