‘I know you’re still looking over me’: Before he’s sent to prison, Antioch man hears from the brother and sister of the boy he killed

MARTINEZ — The man who crashed his car into three 12-year-old step-siblings, killing one and injuring two, was sentenced to nine years and eight months in prison after giving a Contra Costa judge ultimate control over his fate, records show.

But before he was formally sentenced, 31-year-old Ray Shaqil Reeves heard essays read aloud in court from the boy and girl who were walking with 12-year-old Gianathon Vincent on the day he was killed in September 2022. Police said at the time that Reeves’ was speeding in a Chevrolet Impala that crashed into a Mercury Mystique at a red light near Sycamore Drive and Manzanita Way, causing the Chevrolet to leave the roadway and strike the three children on their way home from school.

“I just want you to know I love and I miss you a lot and you will always be in my heart forever. A lot don’t feel the same without you, everything just feels so rotten and cold,” Gianathon’s now 14-year-old stepsister said in court the day Reeves was sentenced.

Gianathon’s stepbrother said in an essay that he remembered walking home and buying snacks for the trio, when their day was interrupted by a “big bang.”

“After the bang I was found in between two bushes. I was able to see smoke coming out of the car, and there was blood everywhere, including on me. I heard ringing in my ears … I was able to hear people asking if I needed help,” he wrote. “At one point I was able to taste blood, I could also taste alcohol due to the paramedics trying to wash the blood out of my mouth.”

All three children were hospitalized with extensive injuries, and the drivers of both vehicles were also transported to a medical center, police said at the time. Reeves was later charged with manslaughter and assault. He pleaded no contest without an agreed-upon sentence, giving Judge Charles “Ben” Burch the power to choose.

The defense argued for a two-year prison term. Prosecutors argued for the nine-year, eight-month sentence, the maximum allowable by statute. Reeves apologized during his sentencing hearing, saying he was consumed by remorse. After the sentence, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office released a statement by the prosecutor, Aron DeFerrari, calling it a “profoundly sad incident” that “cannot be described in words alone.”

In her essay, Gianathon’s stepsister didn’t hold back when it came to Reeves, calling him “evil” and deserving of a “worse life.” She saved her final words for her brother.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye, I know you’re still looking over me,” she wrote. “I hope you’re having a blast in heaven playing football and basketball with the others around you.”