SAN ANTONIO – Emotions ran high during the sentencing hearing for Cody Gann, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison as part of a plea deal in the 2017 murder of a 10-year-old girl who was killed in a drive-by shooting.
Fighting back tears, Jackie Vega addressed Gann in Judge Ray Olivarri’s 144th District Courtroom on Friday morning.
“I hope one day you have remorse for what you have done,” Vega said. “I hope you regret this every day.”
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The drive-by shooting happened at Vega's home on Harwood Drive on November 23, 2017, and claimed the life of Vega's 10-year-old daughter, Delilah Hernandez.
The child’s older brother, Nathaniel Vega, was the intended target, according to Jasmine Cary, 20, Gann’s girlfriend.
Cary testified earlier this week that Gann was the shooter in a drive-by at Vega’s home and that the shooting was a retaliation hit. She said she was the driver the night the child was killed.
Gann and Nathaniel Vega were rival gang members, according to Cary's testimony.
During Friday’s hearing, Gann’s mother, Misty Gann, asked the judge for mercy.
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She said that her son had a rough childhood. She admitted that she and her husband were heroin addicts and that drug use was a part of everyday life in their home when Cody Gann was growing up.
“I live every day with, 'I should’ve if I could’ve, if I would’ve,'” she said. “But I can’t change it.”
Cary, too, was charged in the child’s death, and as part of a plea agreement, she was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison.