Murder convict, 18, sentenced to prison for Columbia killing

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

An 18-year-old Columbia man was sentenced to more than two decades in prison Thursday after he pleaded guilty to felony murder in an elderly woman's death.

Jermarion Burnett-Howard had already pleaded guilty to felony murder and a gun charge in the killing of 72-year-old Janet Jago, who was gunned down outside her home.

Judge Jeff Harris sentenced Burnett-Howard to a total of 24 years in prison: 20 years for second-degree murder and four years for the gun charge.

Burnett-Howard pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon in the death of Janet Jago in spring 2023. Authorities say Burnett-Howard accompanied his uncle, Jermaine Burnett, in an apparent armed robbery attempt.

Jermaine Burnett fatally shot Jago outside her home in the Highlands neighborhood and died in a standoff with police. Investigators say the uncle shot himself.

According to court documents, Burnett-Howard told police that Jago's vehicle almost hit theirs while they were driving, so they followed her. The teenager reported the shooting to police the day after the incident.

Burnett-Howard was under the age of 18 at the time of the shooting, but a judge decided he would be charged as an adult after hearing from witnesses that included a psychologist and juvenile officer.

Burnett-Howard, during sentencing, presented information that he had been abandoned on the front step of the police department at age 6 and had a hard upbringing.

But Harris called the shooting a "horrific act" that warrants the maximum sentence.