MIAMI (CBS4) – A 17-year-old year old girl who was one of three people killed recently in a drive-by shooting in Miami will be buried this weekend and her family has set up a trust fund through Bank of America to defray the expenses for burial.
Shirlena Shepherd, the mother of Jaykia Pitts, said anyone who can afford to donate can contribute to her daughter’s burial by visiting a Bank of America branch and donating to the Jaykia Pitts Memorial Fund. Shepherd said if the amount needed is exceeded, funds will go to the county’s Victims Compensation Fund.
There will be a viewing Friday for Pitts from 4:30 to 6: 00 p.m. at the Grace Memorial Funeral home at 770 N.W. 119th St. and funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Faith Community Baptist Church at 10401 N.W. 8th Ave.
Jaykia was shot in front of the Bawa Food Market at the corner of N.W. 5th Ave. and 54th Street in Miami on July 17th.
She spent several weeks fighting for her life at Jackson Memorial Hospital, but succumbed to her injuries on Monday, August 8th. Police say she was an innocent bystander.
The shooting also took the lives of 29-year-old Demetrius Owens, who was Pitts’ boyfriend and the father of their one-year-old daughter, Armani. Rudolph Sawyer, 23, of Miami was also killed. It’s not known why they were shot.
Sawyer’s loved ones say he had a 6-year-old son. A fourth person, a man in his twenties, was also wounded. Surveillance tape captured the gunmen fleeing in a stolen car that was later found by police.
They still have no good description of the suspects but police are receiving some tips after a public plea for help by the families on July 19th.
Anyone with information about this case is urged to call the Police Department’s Homicide Unit at (305) 603-6350 or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
