Judge uses ‘Career Criminal’ law to lengthen man’s prison sentence

FORT PIERCE — A federal judge has sentenced a man involved in the Valentine’s Day shooting at The Gardens Mall last year to more than a decade in prison.

Kemarcio Mitchell pleaded guilty in August to one count each of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance in the case, which resulted in the Palm Beach Gardens shopping complex being put on lockdown.

On Jan. 23, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon sentenced the 29-year-old Riviera Beach man to 190 months — 15 years, 10 months — in federal custody. She also ordered that Mitchell be placed on three years of supervised release upon completing his prison term.

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Over the objections of defense attorneys, Cannon found that Mitchell could be sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act, which imposes a minimum of 15 years for anyone violating a weapons prohibition who has three prior state or federal convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses.

Mitchell’s attorneys objected to the findings of a presentence investigation, arguing in a court filing that his prior convictions on state drug offenses did not meet federal criteria for enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act.

However, Cannon ruled that Mitchell was properly deemed an armed career criminal. Mitchell likely would have faced up to 10 years if the plea agreement had not invoked the Career Criminal Act.

Law enforcement arrested Mitchell on Feb. 16, two days after authorities alleged he and another man were involved in an altercation on the escalator at the mall’s west end, near the Nordstrom store, that resulted in gunfire.

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Police identified Devon Jamal Graham as the shooter. City police said he and another person were riding the escalator to the first floor from the second that afternoon when Mitchell began following them.

Both men were forbidden from possessing weapons because of prior felony convictions. Cannon sentenced Graham to 12 years in prison in November.

Investigators said Mitchell was in possession of a semiautomatic 9 mm handgun that day and was seen on surveillance-camera video discarding it in the parking lot before running off the property, leaving behind a trail of blood. He received treatment for a gunshot wound at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

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Court documents indicate Graham and Mitchell had long been at odds before the shooting. In letters to a judge, Graham’s family accused Mitchell of shooting Graham several years earlier, nearly killing him. Mitchell was never charged with the crime.

Tensions apparently flared again in December 2023, when Mitchell was released from state prison. According to court records, Mitchell had been convicted in June 2021 on felony charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and of trafficking in cocaine.

Records also show that the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office was taking Mitchell into custody on a federal warrant two days after the mall incident when an agent observed him reach into his front pants pocket and throw a clear plastic bag behind him.

Investigators retrieved the bag and found 33 pill capsules that were determined to contain a mix of substances commonly known as fentanyl.

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Gardens Mall shooting: ‘Career Criminal’ law lengthens man’s sentence