Grandson Was ‘Hunted Down’ By Grandmother, Says Prosecutor

Prosecutor Paul Walton said that Sandra Layne’s grandson was “hunted down” prior to his death.

The statement against the grandmother was made in court on Monday (March 18). Walton summed up his case by stating that Layne shot at her grandson at total of 10 times over the span of around six minutes.

The prosecutor added that the grandmother ignored her grandson’s pleas for help as she fired the shots. The teenager was reportedly killed while on the phone with 911 dispatchers. Walton referred to the killing as a “massacre.”

“Not I was afraid, I acted in self-defense, he came after me. I murdered. I shot. I killed — those are her first statements to law enforcement. She hunted down Jonathan Hoffman because he wouldn’t listen,” the prosecutor said during his closing statement.

He added, “You don’t get a gun because he uses bad language. You don’t get to shoot someone because they raised their voice. The only thing Jonathan had was a caustic or smart mouth.”

Although Walton insists that Layne’s grandson was essentially hunted down prior to his death, defense attorney Jerome Sabbota painted a slightly different story.

“Is there really a motive to murder her grandson? What does she gain? She killed a child she was trying to protect and trying to save. That’s a tragedy. Only one reason she did what she did: fear,” he explained.

To show that Layne had experienced problems with grandson Jonathan Hoffman prior to the shooting, the defense attorney played a 911 call the grandmother placed two months ago. The woman could be heard asking police for assistance because her grandson was attempting to run away from home.

Layne testified last week that she didn’t want to kill her grandson. She said that his addiction to drugs changed his personality and made him violent. Hoffman reportedly kicked his grandmother before she fired the first shot.

“I went into my bedroom and started looking for the gun. I wanted him to pay attention to me. He had to listen. It wasn’t a conversation. It was arguing. Swearing,” she testified.

Sandra Layne is being charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year-old Jonathan Hoffman. Jurors will now decide if the grandmother is guilty of hunting down her grandson.

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