PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WHDH) - A Providence man has been sentenced to two consecutive life sentences in connection with the 2014 shooting death of barber Yusef A’Vant, Attorney General of Rhode Island Peter F. Neronha announced on Thursday.
Thomas Mosely, 39, was sentenced on Wednesday, after a Providence County Superior Court jury found him guilty of second-degree murder and discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, resulting in death on Feb. 28, 2020. It was his second trial for the killing of A’Vant, 42, of East Providence, who left behind a teenage son.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Mosely was sentenced to consecutive life sentences. The court also sentenced him to an additional 5-year consecutive sentence for convictions for obstruction of the judicial system. After declaring Mosely a habitual criminal, the court also sentenced him to an additional consecutive 10 years to serve without the possibility of parole.
“There is a face and a name associated with every act of senseless gun violence in our communities,” said Attorney General Neronha. “Yusef A’Vant’s family and loved ones know this all too well. While today’s verdict will not bring Yusef back or take away his family’s pain and suffering, the defendant has been held accountable for his reprehensible conduct. I commend the work of the East Providence Police and the entire investigative and prosecution team for their work on a complicated case with many moving parts.”
Mosely was initially tried in 2019 on murder and related charges in connection with the 2014 shooting death of A’Vant, but the court declared a mistrial on the murder charge. The jury found Mosely guilty of one count of possessing a firearm without a license, one count of discharge of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence, and three counts of obstruction of the judicial system.
Prosecutors said A’Vant was with a customer at Krazy Kuts shop in East Providence when Mosley entered the business, holding a revolver and ordering A’Vant to get on the floor. According to the customer, the only witness in the store, there was a brief struggle and Mosely shot A’Vant in the abdomen before fleeing the scene. The witness ran across the street for help, and A’Vant later died at a hospital.
A second man, Evan Watson, of Providence, pleaded guilty in 2016 to one count of second-degree murder and other crimes for his role in the killing. Prosecutors said he provided the gun used in the murder and served as the getaway driver.
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