A DeSoto County judge on Thursday handed Jaquillna Twilley a 40-year prison sentence for a Horn Lake shooting that left an 18-year-old critically wounded, a case that has been watched closely in the neighborhood where it happened. The term breaks down to 30 years for attempted murder and 10 years for armed robbery, ordered to run back to back for a total of four decades. The shooting happened on June 26, 2025, at a home on West Avalon Drive, where the teen was hit in the chest and airlifted to Regional One Health in Memphis.
Court order and new sentence
According to the DeSoto County District Attorney's office, Twilley received 30 years on the attempted murder count and 10 years for armed robbery, with the judge ordering those sentences to run consecutively for the 40-year total. The DA's office also noted that the new term will be served at the same time as another sentence Twilley is already serving, as reported by WREG.
How the shooting unfolded
Horn Lake police said they were called just before noon on June 26, 2025, to the West Avalon Drive residence, where they found an 18-year-old with a gunshot wound to the chest. The victim was flown to Regional One and listed in critical condition, according to WLBT. Witnesses told officers what the shooter looked like, and police quickly locked down the surrounding streets, setting up a perimeter near Nail Road and Kentwood Drive. Within that area, officers located and detained Twilley, police said.
Court outcome and sentencing breakdown
Prosecutors said the charges against Twilley came out of the June 2025 confrontation at the West Avalon Drive address and were handled by the DeSoto County District Attorney's office. The DA confirmed that the judge stacked a 30-year attempted murder sentence on top of a 10-year armed robbery term for a combined 40-year punishment, as detailed by WREG.
Local context
The outcome fits a recent pattern in DeSoto County, where prosecutors have been pushing for multi-decade penalties in violent-crime cases, and judges have often gone along. Similar long-term trends for gun crimes have been reported in recent years, according to Action News 5. District Attorney Matthew Barton has publicly framed reducing gun violence and pursuing strong sentences as key priorities for his office.
What "consecutive" and "concurrent" mean
Under Mississippi law, judges can decide whether separate sentences stack one after another or run at the same time. That discretion appears in Rule 26.7 of the Mississippi Rules of Criminal Procedure. In Twilley's case, the 30- and 10-year terms are consecutive, but how this new 40-year sentence lines up alongside the earlier sentence he is already serving will ultimately control his total time behind bars.
The DeSoto County District Attorney's office shared news of the sentence through local media, and the full details will be locked into the court's written sentencing order. Horn Lake Police now list the case among past violent-crime prosecutions as city and county officials continue to keep an eye on neighborhood safety.
