The mother of a man who was killed while attempting to remove a man from his Chesterfield Township apartment building said she forgives and prays for the shooter, although he was acquitted of murder.

Leola Stafford turned to Dejon Drake in a courtroom and told him, “I forgive you. I can’t have anger in my soul. I’m just sorry this happened.”

Drake, 26, was found not guilty of second-degree murder by a Macomb County jury in October in the 2023 shooting death of Olufemi “Louis” Stafford, 27, at Aspen Creek Apartments on 23 Mile Road during a confrontation. He was convicted of two weapons charges.

Drake claimed self-defense but was carrying a handgun illegally, and Macomb Circuit Judge James Maceroni noted Drake “brought a handgun to a fist fight.”

Leolo gave a victim-impact statement at Drake’s sentencing Tuesday by Maceroni in the Mount Clemens courtroom.“I don’t know how this happened to an innocent man,” she said of her son. “This has been terrible for my family. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody. He didn’t deserve this.”

She said had been angry since the incident in July 2023, as Louis’ death exacerbated her devastation over the loss of her older son to COVID-19 about a year before the incident. She was grieving over that loss when she discovered her only other son was killed.

“Now I have two urns on my fireplace,” she said.

But about six months ago she met a nun whom she told Drake should be “at the bottom of the seven layers of hell,” Stafford said. The nun suggested she should try to forgive and pray for Drake, she said.

Stafford said she began to go to church to deliver prayers, even though, “I’m not a very religious person.”

“We are praying for you to know how to give love and receive it,” she told Drake, who didn’t respond.

She said she realized she needed to forgive him so she could continue with her life.

“Forgiveness is for yourself so you don’t stay mad all day,” she said after the hearing. “Life goes on, but it’s a different life.”

Still, she remains upset at how the incident occurred. Her son, who had just been promoted to a manager at the Taco Bell restaurant on 23 Mile Road in Chesterfield Township, noticed Drake was homeless and got him a job there. Louis Stafford also allowed him to live with him and his girlfriend, who had moved in within a couple of weeks before.

But after a number of days, Stafford wanted Drake to leave and kicked him out of the apartment the night of the incident. Drake left but remained with his belongings in the apartment building as it was raining outside. Stafford still demanded that he leave despite the rain, and Drake refused.

A confrontation occurred in front of the building, resulting in Drake fatally shooting Stafford. In addition to Drake testifying, evidence showed Stafford’s DNA on the trigger and trigger guard, meaning he had possessed the gun at some point.

Assistant Macomb Prosecutor Corey Newman noted the case carried a “number of what ifs.”

“The biggest what if is, what if the defendant wasn’t illegally carrying a gun?” he said, and Maceroni later said, “Instead of someone suffering a broke nose (from a fist fight), someone is dead.”

Drake was convicted of carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, which carries a mandatory two-year term.

Drake declined to speak at the sentencing.

Maceroni sentenced him to three years probation for the concealed-weapon charge because he said he believes “some oversight is warranted upon release,” which will be later this year because Drake received about 500 days of credit for time served. He is to seek or gain employment and cannot possess a weapon during probation, the judge ruled.

Maceroni agreed with Drake’s attorney, Elisha Oakes, that the jury verdict’s conviciton of the firearm possession is “inconsistent” because they acquitted him of the felony to which the possession charge was attached. However, Maceroni noted that the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court have upheld such inconsistent verdicts. Oakes said she believe the jury may sought to reach a “compromise” verdict. Maceroni also commended Leola Stafford for her “heartfelt statement and her forgiveness.”

Stafford, who was accompanied to court by her daughters Charnay and Gracie, called her son a hard worker and “cool guy” who loved cats; he owned seven of them. She said she was close to him. She had talked to him over the phone withing a day of his death. His last words were, “I love you mom.”