Cape teen sentenced to 20 years for role in drive-by shooting

A Cape Girardeau man was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday for his role in a 2015 drive-by shooting in which a Cape Girardeau woman was shot in the head, according to a news release from Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor Chris Limbaugh.

Zackary Valenti, 19, was found guilty of second-degree assault, armed criminal action and unlawful use of a weapon. He received seven, three and 10 years for each crime, respectively. The sentences will run consecutively.

In June 2015, a 16-year-old Valenti and an accomplice, Ajai McReynolds, opened fire on a group of people on South Hanover Street who they believed had robbed them previously, according to witness Terrance Williams.

Williams testified he was in the backseat of the car McReynolds was driving at the time of the shooting.

Williams testified he thought Valenti would fire into the air to scare the group. But Paige Smith, who was sitting on a porch on South Hanover Street, was struck in the head by a bullet and seriously injured.

Smith, who spent four months in a St. Louis hospital, was “permanently maimed and crippled as a result” of the shooting, losing nearly all her memories, “including her childhood memories and even her sister’s own name,” according to the release.

“I personally believe this consecutive sentence was warranted under the circumstances,” Limbaugh wrote. “This will help all law enforcement combat our most violent crimes and hopefully send a message to those who would commit them that they will face penalties commensurate with the grave nature of their actions.”

Online court records show McReynolds pleaded guilty in August to first-degree assault and was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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