The man who killed pregnant Makeva Jenkins on her husband’s request entered a plea deal which may set him free in five years, while his alleged commissioner faces life in prison.
Joevan Joseph, now 21, was charged for the first-degree murder of 33-year-old Makeva Jenkins, mother of three and pregnant at that time, in Boynton Beach, Florida, on June 29, 2019.
Joseph changed his plea at the last moment of his court hearing last Monday morning, pleading guilty to second-degree murder while offering optimum cooperation in testifying against his commissioner, Makeva’s husband, Euri Jenkins, in return.
If the details provided by Joseph do not corroborate with those he shared during his testimonies with investigators or if they will be otherwise incongruent with the objectively confirmed course of events, the deal is off.
In that case, Joseph may then face first-degree murder charges and lifetime imprisonment again, Chief Assistant State Attorney Adrienne Ellis said, according to The Palm Beach Post.
In return, Joseph now faces 5 to 20 years in prison, instead of life. “Joevan Joseph just got maybe one of the sweetest deals I’ve seen in a homicide case in the 34 years I’ve been a criminal defense attorney,” Jenkins’ attorney Gregg Lerman said, WPTV reported.
Lerman said prosecutors have “little to no evidence” that his client has anything to do with the slaughter of Makeva Jenkins.
#BREAKING: Joevan Joseph changes plea from not guilty to GUILTY in murder of Makeva Jenkins in 2017. @WPTV pic.twitter.com/eGgWGn6WI3
— Stephanie Susskind (@StephanieWPTV) July 22, 2019
On June 29, 2017, Makeva Jenkins shared her achievements on Facebook that she had worked her way up from being homeless to making “six digits” in just two years.
“I’m in awe of how far I’ve come,” the post read. “Fast forward to now: We overcame being homeless in 2013/2014 to reaching my six-figure mark in 2015 to now making multi six figures. No matter what the road looked like, I followed my heart and stuck with it growing my business. I’m saying this to say; anyone can do it. It takes determination and consistency,” The Palm Beach Post noted.
Just two hours later, at about 2 a.m. she was having a meeting at her house at Plumbago Place west of Boyton Beach with her mom, brother, husband and two of her small children present when somebody knocked at the door—A masked gunman entered the complex, a skirmish arose, in which the gunman shot Makeva in the head in front of all of the guests. Then he fled. Makeva was quickly taken to hospital, where she died.
Three months later, on Sept. 2, 2017, Joseph got arrested.
One year later, during a court hearing in September 2018, prosecutors presented a letter his mother had found in his belongings. She handed it over to investigators. It was titled “Game Plan,” which provided all the details, including the weapon purchase, the money transactions, and how the two men got into contact with each other.
A witness, Dametrius Dale, testified during the same hearing that he had brought Jenkins and Joseph in contact with each other. He said Jenkins shared with him that he wanted to get rid of his wife and was looking for a hitman.
Euri Jenkins’ trial which was also set to begin on Monday also is now postponed due to this turn of events to November 12.