Grandview man, 19, sentenced to life in prison after 2022 shooting of Olathe teen

A 19-year-old Grandview man was sentenced Thursday to life in prison after being convicted of fatally shooting an Olathe teen in 2022.

A Johnson County jury found Deon Eugene Austin, 19, guilty earlier this month of first-degree murder and aggravated battery for his role in the death of 16-year-old Jammaal Blacknoll Jr. Under a sentencing style known as “Hard 50,” Austin will not be eligible for parole for 50 years.

Austin allegedly shot Blacknoll on April 10, 2022, outside the Silverwood Apartments in Mission, Kansas. Blacknoll was already dead when Mission police officers responded to reports of a person who had been shot in the parking lot around 8:50 p.m.

Austin allegedly also shot and wounded a then-13-year-old girl, who has since made a full recovery. Blacknoll and the girl, who were not related, had gone to the Silverwood Apartments together to visit a mutual family friend, Mission police said in 2022.

Blacknoll was known to some as Jamal Pratt, using the name of his stepfather Nathan Pratt II, according to an obituary shared online. The Pratt family, including Blacknoll’s mother, Caroline Doyle, and several other children, lived together in Denver for nearly a decade before moving to Olathe.

Having discovered a love for sports in Colorado, Blacknoll excelled on the football team at Olathe High School, playing on the varsity squad as a freshman. He is survived by nine siblings.

Austin was a minor and a student at Grandview High School when he was arrested on October 17, 2022. A Johnson County judge determined on May 1, 2023 that Austin would be tried as an adult.

Austin initially pleaded not guilty to both charges, while held on a $1 million bond.

Previous reporting by Robert A. Cronkleton was used in this article.