A Richmond judge sentenced Kordell Wall, now 20, to 15 years in prison this week for shooting and killing 36-year-old Kwaivon Dejesus outside Fifth Baptist Church during a funeral repass last fall, closing out a case that began with an argument on the church steps and ended with four gunshots.
Wall was convicted of second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, according to WRIC ABC 8News. The shooting happened on the steps of the church in the 1400 block of West Cary Street around 4:30 p.m. on October 29, 2025, as reported by WTVR CBS 6. Dejesus was shot and later died at a hospital, and police said the shooting followed an altercation between the two men.
A Repass Interrupted by an Argument
Surveillance video showed Wall and Dejesus arguing with a group that had gathered for the repass outside the church, according to the station's report. Witnesses said the argument arose because people felt uncomfortable with Wall's presence, and the dispute also touched on whether Wall had given Dejesus the middle finger. A Richmond detective testified that rumors tying Wall to community shootings had fueled that unease, per the same account.
Witnesses said Wall was armed during the repass while Dejesus was not carrying a firearm. Surveillance footage showed a group holding Dejesus back before he lunged at Wall, the station's report states. Wall then shot Dejesus four times with a pistol fitted with an extended magazine.
A Plea Deal That Avoided a Life Sentence
Wall had originally been indicted on first-degree murder, a charge that carried a potential life sentence. In August, he accepted a plea deal that reduced the charge and capped his maximum exposure at 15 years. Judge Tracy Thorne-Begland imposed the maximum sentence allowed under that agreement: three years for the firearm charge and 40 years for second-degree murder, with 28 years suspended, bringing the total to 15 years behind bars.
Wall's defense argued he was justified in feeling threatened because Dejesus had recently served a nearly 19-year prison sentence for murder. Dejesus's sister and girlfriend testified that he was not looking for trouble and was trying to turn his life around after prison. Wall himself said he was sorry for what happened and accepted accountability for his actions. It remains unclear where Wall will serve his sentence.
On Probation, With a Gun He Wasn't Allowed to Carry
Wall was on felony probation at the time of the shooting and should not have had a firearm. Virginia law separately imposes a mandatory minimum of two years for a convicted felon who knowingly possesses or transports a firearm within ten years of a prior nonviolent felony, and a five-year minimum for a prior violent felony, according to Virginia Code § 18.2-308.2. Separately, state law treats use or display of a firearm during a felony as its own offense carrying a mandatory minimum of three years for a first conviction, under Virginia Code § 18.2-53.1.
Dejesus had returned from his own 18.5-year prison sentence earlier in 2025, only months before he was killed, according to a separate report from 8News. Police identified him as a 36-year-old Richmond resident who was pronounced dead at an area hospital after the shooting.
Part of a Larger Pattern of Gun Violence in Richmond
Richmond's Commonwealth's Attorney described the murder as a microcosm of the city's broader gun violence problem. The characterization lines up with a mixed picture in the city's own 2025 crime statistics: homicides held steady at 54, matching the 2024 total, even as major crime overall fell 12 percent and nonfatal shootings dropped to their lowest level since 2015, according to WRIC ABC 8News' separate reporting on the city's year-end numbers.
Violent crime citywide still rose 8 percent for the year even as shooting incidents fell from 151 in 2024 to 110 in 2025, per Richmondside. Richmond Police Chief Tim Simmons noted that gun violence spiked 163 percent in the final 90 days of the year compared with the prior quarter, with 50 of the year's shooting incidents occurring between October and December alone. Homicides nationally fell an average of 17 percent over the same period, according to Axios.
