Sanford Brothers Get Life For 'Slap Box' Murder

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DeLand, FL - A pair of brothers are sentenced to life in prison for killing a DeLand man over a 'slap box' match.

22-year-old Jeremy Taylor (left) and 32-year-old Sylvester Simmons (right) - both from Sanford - learned their fate after a Volusia County jury convicted them yesterday afternoon in the November 2014 murder of 22-year-old Preston Reed.

The brothers were found guilty of first-degree murder in Reed's shooting death, attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Kiwon Jones - Reed's brother-in-law - and shooting into an occupied vehicle.

Bryan Shorstein - a spokesman for the office of Florida 7th Circuit State Attorney R.J. Larizza - says Simmons shot Jones after losing the contest in front of a group of young women.

"Simmons vowed revenge, picked up his brother from Sanford, returned to Deland and together, they shot multiple rounds into a vehicle which killed the driver Reed and injured the passenger Jones," Shorstein added in a press release.

Chief Circuit Judge Raul Zambrano handed down the mandatory life sentence after the week-long trial wrapped up.