John Jefferson
Jermaine L. Bass addressing the court during his sentencing hearing in Tampa, Florida on March 3, 2025 (Law&Crime).
A 32-year-old father in Florida will spend the rest of his days behind bars for shooting his two small children, killing the youngest. Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Judge Samantha L. Ward on Monday formally ordered Jermaine L. Bass to serve a sentence of life in a state correctional facility without parole after he was found guilty of first-degree murder in the slaying of 5-year-old daughter Jaylah Bass.
In addition to the mandatory life sentence, Ward also sentenced Bass to an additional 25 years for shooting and injuring his 8-year-old son, JJ Bass, who took a bullet to the head but miraculously survived.
The sentencing hearing
Several of the victims’ family members addressed the court during the sentencing hearing, including Shirley Bass, Jaylah and JJ’s mother, who wore a shirt with her daughter’s face on it.
“Nothing compares to the joy of watching your children thrive,” Shirley Bass said. “Yet, in an instant, everything changes. Your husband and children are taken away from you, leaving you to question, how could he? How could he hurt them and put them in harm’s way, knowing he’s supposed to be their protector? What could drive him to such action.”
“It’s no longer why, but how,” she continued. “How could a person choose to harm their own child? A little girl who had just begun to experience the world.”
Bass, who did not testify in his own defense during the trial, also spoke during the hearing, claiming that his gun accidentally went off, hitting his daughter three times and his son once. All of the shots were to the victims’ heads, with authorities saying they were all “precise, deliberate shots.”
“I’m a good person,” he said. “I always made sure my family had the best. I always strive for the best.”
During his address, Bass said he hoped the rest of his family could find peace after “the accident.” As he wrapped up, a shocked Ward asked him if “the ‘accident”” he referring to in his statement was “the death of your children.” When Bass replied “Yes,” Ward briefly stared at him with a look of utter disbelief.
The murder
As previously reported by Law&Crime, authorities at about 10:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, 2022, responded to a call at the Bass family home on Heritage Club Drive regarding reported gunshots.
Shirley Bass had just gotten home from work and kissed her kids goodnight while they were tucked into the bunk beds in their shared room. She then went to the restroom which is when she heard multiple gunshots coming from inside the home.
Fearing for her life, she ran outside and encountered a next-door neighbor, who also heard the shots and called 911. According to documents, she eventually encountered her husband holding their son, who was cold and had blood on him.
Deputies could not get any information out of the mother, with prosecutors describing her as “hysterical.” Investigators said they found the father on a couch downstairs, holding his son. The child was awake and complaining about his head hurting, officials said. Defendant Bass claimed it was all an accident, that his gun “went off” while he was attempting to take out a magazine.
“The defendant advised deputies to ‘Call paramedics’, advised he was attempting to remove a magazine from his firearm when it ‘went off’, and there were no other persons present in the residence,” authorities wrote in a probable cause affidavit
But deputies then found the 5-year-old girl upstairs in her bed on the top bunk.
“Deputies observed an apparent gunshot wound, which was centered in the middle of [Jaylah’s] forehead,” the document states. “As deputies were moving the child from the top bunk to attempt life saving measures, a casing was observed in the bedding of the top bunk.”
Authorities said the girl was shot three times in the head while her brother sustained a gunshot wound to the left side of his head, and the bullet became lodged in his head. There was apparent brain matter visible from his left ear, deputies said.
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Deputies said they originally entered the apartment worried about the occupants’ safety, but they subsequently obtained a search warrant and executed it.
From documents:
During a search of the children’s bedroom, a blanket soaked with suspected blood and four separate .380 caliber shell casings were discovered on the top bunk, where Confidential Victim #1 was found by Deputies. The blanket had a hole in it, which appeared consistent with a projectile traveling through it. Detectives also noted two holes, consistent with bullet damage, which penetrated the north wall of the children’s bedroom. Both holes penetrated into the bathroom, which was located north of the children’s bedroom. One hole was over the top railing of the top bunk and the other penetrated the metal top bunk railing before penetrating the wall at approximately the same height as the railing. On the lower bunk, Detectives discovered a single .380 caliber shell casing, which was underneath another blanket, also covered in suspected blood.
Detectives found a gray Glock 42 .380 caliber gun in the dresser of the primary bedroom, next to Bass’ wallet, according to the filing. The gun was empty, with an empty magazine next to it, prosecutors said.
“This defendant was supposed to love and protect his children,” State Attorney Suzy Lopez said in a statement. “Instead, he took his daughter’s life, and forever scarred his young son. He will spend the rest of his life in prison for this horrific act of violence. While the verdict will not bring back an innocent little girl, we hope it brings a measure of comfort for those who loved her and her brother.”
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